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conversely

UK/kənˈvɜːsli/US/kənˈvɝsli/
adverbC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,204 of 15,258mostly written

Conversely means looked at the other way round. Conversely, the poor pay more, and conversely, conversely it may help.

It signals a genuine reversal rather than a mere contrast, which is why using it for a simple however is a common fault. In logic the converse of a statement swaps its two halves and need not be true at all.

Definitions of conversely

  1. 1adverbconverselyLooked at the other way round.C1

    “If prices rise, sales usually fall; conversely, if prices fall, sales rise.”

conversely is a connector.

Where it comes from

From converse + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

conversely in the wild

  • Feuds may last for months or even years; conversely, they may be resolved with implausible speed, perhaps during a single match.

    Feud (professional wrestling)

  • Legislative routes may be composed of several such roads, and conversely, state, U.S., and Interstate highways may be made up of several legislative routes.

    Legislative route

  • An incurable disease is not necessarily a terminal illness, and conversely, a curable illness can still be fatal.

    Cure

  • Taranto, conversely, has a regular 2/4-meter, and is danceable.

    Tarantas

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.