Contrasting

How to spell contrasting

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce contrasting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does contrasting mean?

1. adjectiveStrikingly different when set side by side, so the differences stand out clearly.
2. verbIn the act of comparing two things to show how they differ.

Contrasting in a sentence

• adjective

  The report set out two contrasting views on the merger.

• verb

  She spent the afternoon contrasting the old policy with the new one.

• adjective

  The designer chose contrasting colours for the kitchen walls and cabinets.

• verb

  The lecturer was contrasting the two economic models on the screen.

Where does contrasting come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows out of the verb 'contrast', which English took in the 1690s from the French 'contraster' and ultimately from the Italian 'contrastare', meaning to strive or stand against. Both rest on the Latin elements 'contra', meaning 'against' or 'opposite', and 'stare', meaning 'to stand', so the literal idea is of two things standing opposed to each other. Painters and writers used the noun early on for the deliberate placing of light against shade or one idea against another, and the present participle 'contrasting' soon settled in as an adjective describing things that differ strikingly. The same 'contra' element shows up in everyday relatives such as 'contradict' and 'contrary', while 'stare' lurks inside 'stable' and 'state'. Remembering the buried Latin 'stare' helps fix the single 't' and the 'st' cluster in the middle, since the trap is hearing only one block of sound.

How the word is built

• contra- (against)
• -st- (from Latin stare, to stand)
• -ing (adjective/participle suffix)