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paradox
[ par-uh-doks ]
noun
- a statement that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth:
“Less is more” is a paradox often repeated in the arts and other fields.
It is a paradox of healthy grief that we must work at it while surrendering to it.
- any person, thing, or situation displaying an apparently contradictory nature:
In the media the candidate was called a paradox—an unpopular populist.
Synonyms: , ,
- a self-contradictory and false statement, especially one arising from seemingly acceptable premises and correct logical argument.
- Also called par·a·dox il·lu·sion [par, -, uh, -doks i-loo-zh, uh, n]. an optical illusion depicting an impossible object, often a two-dimensional figure that the viewer intuitively interprets as representing a three-dimensional one, but which cannot actually exist in three dimensions: brought to popular attention especially by the work of M. C. Escher.
- Archaic. an opinion or statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion.
paradox
/ ˈæəˌɒ /
noun
- a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that is or may be true
religious truths are often expressed in paradox
- a self-contradictory proposition, such as I always tell lies
- a person or thing exhibiting apparently contradictory characteristics
- an opinion that conflicts with common belief
paradox
- A statement that seems contradictory or absurd but is actually valid or true. According to one proverbial paradox, we must sometimes be cruel in order to be kind. Another form of paradox is a statement that truly is contradictory and yet follows logically from other statements that do not seem open to objection. If someone says, “I am lying,” for example, and we assume that his statement is true, it must be false. The paradox is that the statement “I am lying” is false if it is true.
Derived Forms
- ˌ貹ˈdz澱, adjective
- ˌ貹ˈdz澱ly, adverb
Other 51Թ Forms
- 貹··dz·· 貹··dz· adjective
- 貹··dz·DZ·· [par-, uh, -dok-, sol, -, uh, -jee], noun
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of paradox1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of paradox1
Example Sentences
I detect a curious paradox right now: anger confronts an expectation of widespread indifference.
Here, Todd has his youngest character summarize the painful central paradox of trans life — in Nazi Germany nearly a century ago, and possibly in tomorrow’s America.
In his message on the meaning of Easter, the King talks of the "paradox of human life" in which the heroism of humanitarian workers is contrasted with terrible scenes of suffering in war.
Luna's leadership on the proxy voting bill underscores how this ideological pressure is increasingly a paradox for female Republican politicians.
This is how the grandfather paradox was first explained to me: Imagine a boy whose grandfather invented a time machine.
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