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as in paradox
someone or something with qualities or features that seem to conflict with one another a loving father as well as a ruthless killer, the gangster is a living contradiction

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of contradiction Richard Avedon’s accompanying portrait discards any notion of Cat Power’s caprice; there’s no bewilderment or confusion on display, no underlying contradictions. Carrie Brownstein, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2025 The exhibition doesn’t seek to pin down identity, but to hold space for its contradictions. Okla Jones, Essence, 12 Apr. 2025 There are overlapping contradictions, just like in life. Lise Pedersen, Variety, 8 Apr. 2025 The dismantling of the prosecution would require him to ferret out inconsistencies and contradictions in Ephron’s testimony in cross-examination. Julian Sancton, HollywoodReporter, 4 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for contradiction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contradiction
Noun
  • This tension, between authority and provocation, is one of a few defining paradoxes of the museum, built into its DNA from the very start.
    Rachel Corbett, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Denisovan paradox Denisovans were first identified in 2010 in a lab using DNA sequences extracted from a tiny fragment of finger bone found in Denisova Cave in Siberia’s Altai Mountains, which is how the group got its name.
    Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Planning staff recommended denial of the permit for the drive-thru, which would sit within 300 feet of another drive-thru to its north and the Bainbridge subdivision to its west on Lost Rapids Drive.
    Rose Evans, Idaho Statesman, 19 Apr. 2025
  • Often the oddity comes from the chilling drone of bureaucracy: the executor’s compassionate thicket of legal reasoning, an airline representative’s denial of Carrie’s quest for a bereavement discount, the dollars and cents of Dr. J’s cremation (for which Carrie is retroactively billed).
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Their firm rejection of federal government conditions also emphasizes autonomy's critical role in organizational health.
    Dan Pontefract, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • The 6-foot-11 big man is logging averages of 19.2 points, 10.4 boards, 4.9 dimes, 1.1 swipes and 0.8 rejections across his 75 available contests.
    David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Contradiction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contradiction. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

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