The act or state of being sharply contrasted or distinguished from something else by opposing characteristics.
From 'contradistinct' + '-ion' (Latin suffix forming nouns of action). The suffix '-tion' transforms the adjective into a noun representing the process or result of contrasting.
In 'contradistinction to' became a formal phrase used by philosophers and writers to mean 'in stark contrast with'—it's how educated people emphasized opposition before modern English simplified to just saying 'unlike.'
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