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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Examples 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 paradox One paradox of contemporary uses of the word is that the target is often not Jews. Marc Tracy, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024 This is an old paradox of the digital world: the same platforms that provide connection also have a way of cutting us off. Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2024 That Russia can maintain its forward momentum on the battlefield despite catastrophic losses is one of the great paradoxes of the wider war. David Axe, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024 The findings lead Renner to suspect that quantum reference frames might help resolve some of the weird paradoxes that arise in quantum thought experiments. Anil Ananthaswamy, Quanta Magazine, 22 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for paradox 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paradox
Noun
  • But to play to that dichotomy is a tightrope walk: lean too far one way and Indy becomes boring, either as too normal or a superhero.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 10 Dec. 2024
  • The dichotomy is most evident in the two reception rooms on the first floor.
    Joelle Diderich, WWD, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Still, the family is on edge, unnerved by the nightly mystery.
    Alyce McFadden, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2024
  • The art on view, in its day, was cutting-edge but infused with Gothic mystery, much as the best Christmases are about busy people, living in the present, gathering to reflect, reminisce, and hope for a miracle or two.
    Brian T. Allen, National Review, 7 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • But the path down memory lane is twisted, and while trying to debunk the many laudatory myths that have grown up around him, Fife’s deteriorating mind just ends up creating more, a contradiction that Schrader conveys with a whole armory of experimental visual flourishes.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 4 Dec. 2024
  • On the set, Selena is a living oxymoron, a daily contradiction: strong, fragile, determined, indeterminate, present, absent, sick, healthy as can be, chatty, quiet, etc.
    Jacques Audiard, IndieWire, 1 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Instead, the series prefers to regularly introduce additional enigmas into its central town that somehow keeps drawing in new residents despite being a nightmarish place that might be a parallel dimension, a pocket universe, purgatory, or even hell.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2024
  • For a while in the series, the motive remains an enigma, as does Marsh.
    Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • The incongruity between Tropicana’s decent home run but low fly ball park factor is nothing new.
    Tony Blengino, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
  • The contrasts didn’t hit him all at once, but more slowly — an accumulation of incongruities that built up over time.
    Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Paradox.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paradox. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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