countercurrent
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A current flowing in an opposite direction to another: A flow of water, air, or another fluid that moves contrary to the main or surrounding current.
- A contrary trend, opinion, or influence: An action, movement, or set of ideas that opposes or runs contrary to the prevailing or main activity.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- Swimmers were warned about the dangerous countercurrent near the shore.
- Within the political party, a strong countercurrent of dissent began to emerge.
- The river's main flow was east, but a powerful countercurrent ran along the western bank.
Advanced Usage
- "to swim against the countercurrent": To act or struggle in opposition to a prevailing trend or force. This is a metaphorical extension of the literal meaning.
- The activist's ideas were like swimming against the countercurrent of popular opinion.
Variants and Related Words
- Crosscurrent (n): Often used similarly to mean a current crossing another, or more commonly, a conflicting trend or influence within a group or situation.
- The debate was complicated by several intellectual crosscurrents.
Synonyms
- Undertow: A current below the surface moving in a different direction (often specifically pulling away from shore).
- Contrary movement: A general term for motion in the opposite direction.
- Opposing trend: A tendency or development that contradicts another.
Related Phrases
- Countervailing force: A force that counteracts or offsets another.
- The new policy acted as a countervailing force to the economic downturn.
Related Idioms
- To go against the tide/current: To oppose the general opinion or course of events. This idiom is conceptually related to "countercurrent."
- He was never afraid to go against the tide in his research.
Noun
- actions counter to the main group activity
- political crosscurrents disrupted the conference
- a stretch of turbulent water in a river or the sea caused by one current flowing into or across another current