Meaning & use
paradox
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Meanings
nouncountable
A situation or statement that seems to contradict itself yet may still be true or make sense.
Grammar: Often introduced with an or the: it is a paradox that.
Patterns
- it is a paradox that
- a paradox of something
It is a paradox that the busiest people often feel the loneliest.
The paradox of choice is that more options can make people less happy.
He enjoyed the paradox of being a quiet leader.
nouncountable
A person or thing with qualities that seem opposite to each other.
Grammar: Often said about a person: he is a walking paradox.
Patterns
- be a paradox
The city is a paradox of wealth and poverty.
She was a paradox, shy on stage but bold in life.
The old building is a paradox, both fragile and strong.
nouncountabletechnical
A logical puzzle or argument that seems sound but leads to a contradictory conclusion.
Grammar: Often named after a thinker: Zeno's paradox.
Patterns
- resolve a paradox
- Zeno's paradox
Zeno's paradox claims a runner can never reach the finish line.
Mathematicians spent years working on the paradox.
The liar paradox puzzles philosophy students.
Word forms
| plural | paradoxes |
|---|
Common combinations
- an apparent paradox
- There is an apparent paradox in the data.
- resolve a paradox
- Scientists tried to resolve the paradox.
- the paradox of choice
- Shopping online shows the paradox of choice.
- a central paradox
- A central paradox of the film is its quiet violence.
- the irony and paradox
- The story is full of irony and paradox.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contradiction
- A contradiction is a clash that cannot both be true, but a paradox may reveal a deeper truth.
- irony
- Irony is the gap between what is expected and what happens, while paradox is an apparent self-contradiction.
- puzzle
- Puzzle is a general word for something hard to solve, while paradox implies conflicting ideas.
- anomaly
- An anomaly is something unusual or abnormal, not necessarily self-contradictory.
Opposites
Word family
- paradoxical adjective
- seeming to contradict itself
- paradoxically adverb
- in a way that seems contradictory
- paradoxes noun
- plural form
Commonly confused: paradox or parody?
paradox vs parody
A parody is a funny imitation of something, while a paradox is an apparent contradiction.
Practice
It's a ___ that the more you study the less you feel you know.
Choose one answer.
A paradox is an apparent contradiction that can still be true. Parody is a funny imitation, and the other words do not make sense here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “paradox”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.