on the contrary
Expression
[change]Expression |
- You use on the contrary when you want to stress that the truth is the opposite of what was believed.
- Synonym: to the contrary
- He did not refuse. On the contrary, he told his them he would be happy to accept.
Usage
[change]The sentence before on the contrary is negative and the sentence with on the contrary is positive, but they make the same claim about the same subject (e.g., X is not short. On the contrary, it is tall.).
Don't confuse this with in contrast. You use in contrast to say different things about different subjects (e.g., X is short. In contrast, Y is tall.).