ox·y·mo·ron

[ok-si-mawr-on, -mohr-]
noun, plural ox·y·mo·ra [ok-si-mawr-uh, -mohr-uh] , ox·y·mor·ons. Rhetoric.
a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.”

Origin:
1650–60; < Late Latin oxymorum < presumed Greek *oxýmōron, neuter of *oxýmōros sharp-dull, equivalent to oxý(s) sharp (see oxy-1) + mōrós dull (see moron)

ox·y·mo·ron·ic [ok-see-muh-ron-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Oxymoron is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Collins
World English Dictionary
oxymoron (ˌɒksɪˈmɔːrɒn) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -mora
rhetoric an epigrammatic effect, by which contradictory terms are used in conjunction: living death; fiend angelical
 
[C17: via New Latin from Greek oxumōron, from oxus sharp + mōros stupid]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

oxymoron
1657, from Gk. oxymoron, noun use of neut. of oxymoros (adj.) "pointedly foolish," from oxys "sharp" (see acrid) + moros "stupid." Rhetorical figure by which contradictory terms are conjoined so as to give point to the statement or expression; the word itself is an illustration
of the thing. Now often used loosely to mean "contradiction in terms."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
oxymoron [(ok-see-mawr-on)]

A rhetorical device in which two seemingly contradictory words are used together for effect: “She is just a poor little rich girl.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
To environmentalists, clean coal is an insulting oxymoron.
The notion of patient autonomy is a contradiction and an oxymoron.
Most days, the phrase "courtroom humor" is an oxymoron.
The truth is that "low-key wedding" is an oxymoron.
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