paradox

noun

par·​a·​dox ˈper-ə-ˌdäks 

ˈpa-rə-

1

: one (such as a person, situation, or action) having seemingly contradictory qualities or phases

2

a

: a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true

b

: a self-contradictory statement that at first seems true

c

: an argument that apparently derives self-contradictory conclusions by valid deduction from acceptable premises

3

: a tenet contrary to received opinion

Did you know?

The ancient Greeks were well aware that a paradox can take us outside our usual way of thinking. They combined the prefix para- ("beyond" or "outside of") with the verb dokein ("to think"), forming paradoxos, an adjective meaning "contrary to expectation." Latin speakers used that word as the basis for a noun paradoxum, which English speakers borrowed during the 1500s to create paradox.

Synonyms

• contradiction
• dichotomy
• incongruity

Examples of paradox in a Sentence

For the actors, the goal was a paradox: real emotion, produced on cue. —Claudia Roth Pierpont, New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2008

Again and again, he returns in his writing to the paradox of a woman who is superior to the men around her by virtue of social class though considered inferior to them on account of her gender. —Terry Eagleton, Harper's, November 2007

She was certainly far from understanding him completely; his meaning was not at all times obvious. It was hard to see what he meant for instance by speaking of his provincial side—which was exactly the side she would have taken him most to lack. Was it a harmless paradox, intended to puzzle her? or was it the last refinement of high culture? —Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady, 1881

Mr. Guppy propounds for Mr. Smallweed's consideration the paradox that the more you drink the thirstier you are and reclines his head upon the window-sill in a state of hopeless languor. —Charles Dickens, Bleak House, 1852-53

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

As an actor, he's a paradox—he loves being in the public eye but also deeply values and protects his privacy.

a novel full of paradox

Recent Examples on the Web

For now, the OAA and its vital programs are caught up in an Orwellian paradox. —Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024

By the end of the novel, Mason has conveyed the paradox of history: Its span is so much longer than any individual human life, yet it is inexorably shaped by the way each one of us spends our days. —Amanda Parrish Morgan, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2024

Acting and being—the Black performer presents the paradox in full in much of American film. —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2024

Turley points out a paradox, noting that former President Barack Obama also asserted federal supremacy in immigration matters, particularly evident in the 2012 Supreme Court case Arizona v. United States. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin paradoxum, from Greek paradoxon, from neuter of paradoxos contrary to expectation, from para- + dokein to think, seem — more at decent

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined at sense 3

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Kids Definition

paradox

noun

par·​a·​dox ˈpar-ə-ˌdäks 

1

a

: a statement that seems to go against common sense but may still be true

b

: a false statement that at first seems true

2

: a person or thing having qualities that seem to be opposites

paradoxical

ˌpar-ə-ˈdäk-si-kəl

adjective

paradoxically

-k(ə-)lē

adverb

Medical Definition

paradox

noun

par·​a·​dox ˈpar-ə-ˌdäks 

: an instance of a paradoxical phenomenon or reaction