A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g. faith unfaithful kept him falsely true).
More example sentences
- Yes, but it does leave a reader ever more certain that the term ‘mature male’ is an oxymoron.
- One day I sat her down to explain to her the word oxymoron and then to describe a magnificent and bucolic world of insults.
- The idea of a light of darkness is certainly an oxymoron, certainly a contradiction in terms, and yet we find that among various mystics.
mid 17th century: from Greek oxumōron, neuter (used as a noun) of oxumōros 'pointedly foolish', from oxus 'sharp' + mōros 'foolish'.
- More example sentences
- As their name suggests, ‘romances of real life’ denote a self-consciously oxymoronic genre.
- This might sound oxymoronic, but the fact is relaxation has turned into an aggressive sport.
- It is that tension between safety and satire that has traditionally rendered oxymoronic the very notion of corporate comedy.
Definition of oxymoron in:
- The US English dictionary