🙃 Counterintuitive: Tricky Traps
COUNTERINTUITIVE most nearly means: A) instinctive; B) prudent; C) lucid; D) paradoxical. Answer inside. 👉️
Counter means opposite, and intuitive refers to things people naturally feel is true. So there are things that are true that don’t seem like they would be. For these things, we can use the word counterintuitive. For example, sometimes assembly instructions for a products might seem counterintuitive.
📚️ Definition of Counterintuitive
Counterintuitive (adjective): Contrary to what intuition or common sense would lead you to expect, even when it turns out to be true. Example: a counterintuitive process.
🗣️ Pronunciation of Counterintuitive
IPA: /ˌkaʊn.tɚ.ɪnˈtu.ɪ.tɪv/ (See IPA key)
Phonetic: KOWN-ter-in-TOO-ih-tiv
📰 Examples of Counterintuitive
Here are some examples of the word counterintuitive:
I know it’s counterintuitive, but I actually have less energy during the day if I sleep till noon.
“Startups are very counterintuitive. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s just because knowledge about them hasn’t permeated our culture yet.” — Paul Graham, “Before the Startup” (2014)
It sounds counterintuitive, but some people swear that putting a little salt on your slice of watermelon actually improves its already delicious taste.
In the game show Let’s Make a Deal, contestants are told that a prize is behind one of three doors. The contestant makes their choice of door 1, 2, or 3. No matter where the prize is, Monty Hall, the game show host, then opens one of the two remaining doors to reveal no prize behind that door. Hall then asks the player whether they’d like to switch their choice to the other, still-closed, door. It may seem counterintuitive, but switching to the remaining door actually doubles the chances of winning.
🗣️ Common Collocations of Counterintuitive
A collocation is a group of words often found together in usage, for example figment of one’s imagination, extenuating circumstances, or inclement weather.
a counterintuitive result
a counterintuitive finding
it may seem counterintuitive, but...
counterintuitive advice
Quiz answer: D, paradoxical.
I have a quick language question based on speech in hear in my San Francisco classrooms: