paradox
noun/ˈpærədɒks/
/ˈpærədɑːks/
- [countable] a person, thing or situation that has two opposite features and therefore seems strange
- He was a paradox—a loner who loved to chat to strangers.
- It is a curious paradox that professional comedians often have unhappy personal lives.
Extra Examples- The author tackles one of the deepest paradoxes of life.
- The facts pose something of a paradox.
- the paradox in the relationship between creativity and psychosis
- The paradox about time is that it seems to go faster as we become older and less active.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- apparent
- seeming
- great
- …
- create
- pose
- present
- …
- paradox about
- paradox between
- paradox in
- …
- by a curious paradox
- [countable, uncountable] a statement containing two opposite ideas that make it seem impossible or unlikely, although it is probably true; the use of this in writing
- ‘More haste, less speed’ is a well-known paradox.
- It's a work full of paradox and ambiguity.
WordfinderTopics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc1, Languagec1
Word Originmid 16th cent. (originally denoting a statement contrary to accepted opinion): via late Latin from Greek paradoxon ‘contrary (opinion)’, neuter adjective used as a noun, from para- ‘distinct from’ + doxa ‘opinion’.
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paradox