as in dichotomy
someone or something with qualities or features that seem to conflict with one another
the paradox of fighting a war for peace
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Recent Examples of paradox
The resulting paradox is that, as deaf culture expands (but hearing people’s knowledge of it hardly keeps up), relationships between deaf people and hearing people become increasingly fraught and difficult.
—
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2025
Neil Irwin Jan 22, 2025 - Politics & Policy
The paradox of Trump's economic inheritance
President Trump is inheriting an economy that is simultaneously robust and fragile.
—Neil Irwin, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025
The paradox suggests that effort can be both costly and valuable, that, although our genetic makeup pushes us to choose survival above all else (which often does not require climbing high mountains or running long distances), humans have evolved to sometimes choose difficulty over ease.
—Mallory Arnold, Outside Online, 8 Feb. 2025
The Tocqueville paradox nicely captures the idea of concept creep and explains how people today can be outraged at (historically speaking) minor social injustices, despite being surrounded by (historically speaking) unprecedented equality.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paradox
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2025
Neil Irwin Jan 22, 2025 - Politics & Policy
The paradox of Trump's economic inheritance
President Trump is inheriting an economy that is simultaneously robust and fragile.
—Neil Irwin, Axios, 11 Feb. 2025
The paradox suggests that effort can be both costly and valuable, that, although our genetic makeup pushes us to choose survival above all else (which often does not require climbing high mountains or running long distances), humans have evolved to sometimes choose difficulty over ease.
—Mallory Arnold, Outside Online, 8 Feb. 2025
The Tocqueville paradox nicely captures the idea of concept creep and explains how people today can be outraged at (historically speaking) minor social injustices, despite being surrounded by (historically speaking) unprecedented equality.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paradox
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paradox
Noun
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Connotations of an easy dichotomy with perception are obvious and inappropriate.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
18 Feb. 2025
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That’s the dichotomy of someone underrated becoming a global icon.—
Marcus Thompson II,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Over the next six years, the telescope will capture images of more than 1.5 billion galaxies and reveal even more mysteries about the universe.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
19 Mar. 2025
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One of the greatest mysteries facing humanity is how the activation or firing of our neurons relates to our ability to think and somehow gives rise to a sense of sentience and consciousness.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Leaders today operate in an environment filled with ambiguity and contradictions.—
Dan Pontefract,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
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Avalanche terrain is a world of numerous variables, contradictions, and compounding human error.—
Ashley Thess,
Outdoor Life,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Page, losing his Bridgerton persona completely, is an enigma with an ego, Burke is outstanding as a man in decline, and the always-great Harris is very fine as well.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
6 Mar. 2025
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Astronomers may have solved a enigma involving a mysterious X-ray signal from a dying star that's been puzzling scientists since 1980.—
Russel Honoré,
Newsweek,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But that incongruity becomes part of The Monkey’s strange sense of humor.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2025
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To me, their beauty derives in part from their incongruity with the sky’s naturally occurring features.—
Kate Folk,
New York Times,
11 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paradox.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paradox. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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