counterintuitive.

Contrary to what ordinary intuition would initially suggest.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• counterintuitive result
• counterintuitive conclusion

On the page

The smaller network produced the counterintuitive advantage.

Usage notes

Primary category: analysis / argumentation / evidence. Forms: Comparative more counterintuitive; superlative most counterintuitive when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: evidence, inference, qualification. Commonness: moderately common.