in opposition to the flow (of wood, meat, etc.); in opposition to what is natural

The following video provides you with the correct English pronunciation of the word "against the grain", to help you become a better English speaker.

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against the natural way, rub the wrong way Some words go against the grain. Their spellings aren't natural.

Synonyms and related words:
a rebours, a reculons, abhorrent, against the tide, against the wind, anticlockwise, arear, arsy-varsy, ass-backwards, astern, at cross-purposes, at daggers, at daggers drawn, at issue, at odds, at variance, at war with, athwart, away, back, backward, backwards, by contraries, contra, contrarily, contrariously, contrariwise, conversely, counter, counterclockwise, cross, cross-grained, dislikable, displeasing, distasteful, eyeball-to-eyeball, fro, hindward, hindwards, in confrontation, in flat opposition, in hostile array, in opposition, in reverse, intolerable, inversely, just the opposite, mislikable, nay rather, odious, on the contrary, oppositely, otherwise, per contra, quite the contrary, rather, rearward, rearwards, retrad, to the contrary, topsy-turvy, tout au contraire, uncongenial, uninviting, unlikable, unlovable, unpleasant, up in arms, upside down, vice versa, widdershins, with crossed bayonets,
  

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