paradox

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈpærədɒks/ 🇺🇸 /ˈpɛrəˌdɑks/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.; A person, thing, or situation that has contradictory or inconsistent qualities or characteristics.; In logic, a statement that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition, often arising from self-reference or circular reasoning.; A seemingly absurd or counterintuitive conclusion that arises from valid reasoning based on accepted premises.; An opinion or belief that runs counter to commonly held views; a heterodox or unconventional assertion.; In physics, an apparent contradiction between theoretical predictions and experimental observations or between two established theories.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: paradoxes

Collocations

apparent paradoxresolve a paradoxpresent a paradoxparadox of choiceinherent paradoxseeming paradox

Derivatives

paradoxicalparadoxicallyparadoxicalness

Synonyms

contradictionanomalyincongruitypuzzleenigmaconundrum

Antonyms

certaintyclarity

Commonly confused

oxymoron
EN: An oxymoron is a figure of speech pairing contradictory terms (e.g., 'deafening silence'), while a paradox is a broader statement or situation that seems self-contradictory yet may reveal a deeper truth.
irony
EN: Irony involves an outcome contrary to expectations, often with a humorous or pointed effect; a paradox is a logical contradiction that challenges understanding.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember it is 'paradox' (from Greek 'para' + 'doxa' meaning opinion), not 'paradoxe' or 'paradoxon'. The plural is 'paradoxes', not 'paradoxa' in standard English.

💬 Examples

  1. It is a paradox that computers need maintenance so often, since they are meant to save people time.

  2. He was a paradox—a loner who loved crowds.

  3. The liar's paradox states that the sentence 'This sentence is false' can be neither true nor false.

  4. The grandfather paradox suggests that if you traveled back in time and prevented your grandfather from meeting your grandmother, you would never have been born.

  5. The paradox that less is more has become a guiding principle in minimalist design.

  6. The twin paradox in special relativity shows that a twin who travels at near-light speed ages more slowly than the twin who stays on Earth.