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counterintuitive

adjective/ˌkaʊntərɪnˈtjuːɪtɪv/

B2CEFR level
35/100Rarity: fairly common
NeutralRegister

Contrary to what intuition would lead one to expect.

It is counterintuitive that a heavier and a lighter ball fall at the same rate.

Similar: paradoxical

Topic: Science & reasoning in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: Science & reasoning