oxymoron
Use Oxymoron in a sentence
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sɪˈmɔr noun, plural ox·y·mo·ra [ok-si-mawr-uh, -mohr-uh] , ox·y·mor·ons. Rhetoric.
[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.”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To oxymoron
00:10
Oxymoron
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
oxymoron (ˌɒksɪˈmɔːrɒn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —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
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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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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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Boy, is that an oxymoron — the college trying to preserve the river shoreline after it built almost on the river's edge.
Thanks for agreeing with my oxymoron, must have heard or read it somewhere.
Today we are after that rarer oxymoron: the wisest fool.
Since an objective perspective is an oxymoron, any inquiry is inherently subjective to begin with.
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