Standard Lemma guide

contravariant

adj · noun · 4 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

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Which reverses the order of morphism composition: formally, which associates each morphism f:X→Y to a morphism F(f):F(Y)→F(X).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: category-theory, computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: covariant

2

adj

Meaning 2

Using or relating to contravariance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Qualifier: object-oriented programming

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Scaling inversely with a change of basis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: linear-algebra, mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A bihomogeneous polynomial in dual variables of x, y, ... and the coefficients of some homogeneous form in x, y, ... that is invariant under some group of linear transformations.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: algebra, mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Italic *-teros Proto-Italic *komterosder. Proto-Italic *komterād Latin contrābor. English contra- English variant English contravariant From contra- + variant.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: kontravariantti — which reverses composition
  • French: contravariant — which reverses composition
  • German: kontravariant — which reverses composition
  • Portuguese: contravariante — which reverses composition
  • Romanian: contravariant — which reverses composition
  • Swedish: kontravariant — which reverses composition
  • Finnish: kontravariantti — relating to contravariance
  • French: contravariant — relating to contravariance
  • German: kontravariant — relating to contravariance
  • Finnish: kontravariantti — translation