Origin: Latin suffix -ory
Contradictory has 7 different meanings across 2 categories:
two propositions are contradictories if both cannot be true (or both cannot be false) at the same time
"The witness's statement created a contradictory situation where he claimed to see the suspect fleeing north while simultaneously insisting he had watched him drive south."
Either of a pair of propositions, that cannot both be true or both be false.
"The witness's testimony presented contradictory evidence by claiming they were at home while simultaneously stating they saw the suspect leave the building an hour earlier."
of words or propositions so related that both cannot be true and both cannot be false
"`perfect' and `imperfect' are contradictory terms"
that confounds or contradicts or confuses
"His statement was contradictory because he claimed to love animals while casually discussing eating them for dinner."
in disagreement
"the figures are at odds with our findings"
"contradictory attributes of unjust justice and loving vindictiveness"
unable for both to exist or be true at the same time
"The witness's claim that he was in two different places at once is contradictory, as it makes his statement impossible to believe."
That contradicts something, such as an argument.
"Her claim that she had never been to Paris completely contradicted her passport entry stamps from last summer."