How to Use counterintuitive in a Sentence

counterintuitive

adjective
  • It may seem counterintuitive, but we do burn calories when we are sleeping.
  • Some rules end up running counterintuitive to their care for kids with autism.
    — Nancy Guan, ajc, 13 Mar. 2022
  • Such a move, which on its face seems counterintuitive, has been done before.
    — David Kravets, Ars Technica, 23 Sep. 2017
  • While such notions are counterintuitive to some, the physics is not.
    — Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
  • Some of the posters are more counterintuitive.
    — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2026
  • To be on a dating app feels a bit counterintuitive to that desire.
    — Tommy McArdle, People.com, 13 Aug. 2025
  • That's why, at first glance, the leopard’s choice of meal seems counterintuitive.
    — Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 1 Mar. 2017
  • This seems counterintuitive, but bear with me.
    — Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • This may sound counterintuitive, but try the hardest task first.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes, 18 Aug. 2022
  • Given that fact, the third macro trend might seem counterintuitive.
    — Rob Walker, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2021
  • At first blush, this might sound counterintuitive.
    — George Michael, The Conversation, 19 Dec. 2025
  • This seems counterintuitive to many of us, who think of pain as something that heals with time and distance.
    — Laura Dorwart, SELF, 27 Mar. 2018
  • This may seem counterintuitive, but healthy roots will lead to higher yields through the course of the season.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 10 Jan. 2024
  • And that, to me, is the counterintuitive truth at the heart of the Wek Test.
    — Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
  • Seeing an increase in both dry and wet events may sound counterintuitive, but the physics are two sides of the same coin.
    — Kasha Patel, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Mar. 2023
  • At the time, this seemed like a counterintuitive prediction, to say the least.
    — Marcela Valdes, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2020
  • On paper, the price of two firsts, plus, may seem counterintuitive for the Rangers.
    — Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 27 June 2026
  • Some of them seem counterintuitive, from the point of view of Democrats’ mental health.
    — Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2020
  • The same kind of counterintuitive finding pops up in the research on people who stand a lot for work.
    — Julia Belluz, Vox, 20 Nov. 2018
  • While that might seem counterintuitive, many of the top trends rely on smart home features to make your space more spa-like.
    — Jamie Gold, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
  • So, the idea of lenders accepting less than they're owed may seem counterintuitive.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
  • That leads us to the counterintuitive reading of the Rorschach test.
    — Noah Feldman Bloomberg Opinion, Star Tribune, 28 May 2021
  • And the trend is counterintuitive, because bank customers tend to stay put.
    — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The design of this hood intake is counterintuitive, but that bit near the windshield sucks in cold air.
    — Michael Teo Van Runkle, Ars Technica, 26 Oct. 2023
  • At first, the idea of heating up a beverage meant to cool down the drinker seems counterintuitive.
    — Andy Staples, SI.com, 23 Apr. 2018
  • Halfway through a snap, Gilmore makes a move that seems counterintuitive.
    — The Indianapolis Star, 11 Aug. 2022
  • The idea of large snowstorms may seem counterintuitive at a time when the world’s climate is getting warmer.
    — Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2022
  • This advice might seem counterintuitive since the student likely won’t need the aid in the fall.
    — Cheryl Winokur Munk, WSJ, 4 Jan. 2019
  • To ask them to hold on through any length of a meander — to endure — sounds counterintuitive.
    — Christopher Borrelli, chicagotribune.com, 5 Nov. 2020
  • That's because too much total rest post-workout is counterintuitive to the way the body works.
    — Zane Pickett, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'counterintuitive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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