Standard Lemma guide

contrafibularities

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌkɒntɹəˌfɪbjʊˈlæɹɪtiz/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

False congratulations, sounding congratulatory while actually pulling someone's leg.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: humorous, plural, plural-only, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From contra- + fibular + -ity + -s. From a 1987 episode of the British television comedy Blackadder, after Dr. Samuel Johnson boasts about his newly completed dictionary containing every word in the English language. Blackadder wishes Dr. Johnson his "most enthusiastic contrafibularities", upsetting Johnson, who quickly adds the alleged word to his manuscript.