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oxymoron

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ox⋅y⋅mo⋅ron

  [ok-si-mawr-on, -mohr-]
Use oxymoron in a Sentence
–noun, plural -mo⋅ra  [-mawr-uh, -mohr-uh] . 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; < LL oxymorum < presumed Gk *oxýmōron, neut. of *oxýmōros sharp-dull, equiv. to oxý(s) sharp (see oxy- 1 ) + mōrós dull (see moron )

Related forms:
ox⋅y⋅mo⋅ron⋅ic  [ok-see-muh-ron-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ox·y·mo·ron   (ŏk'sē-môr'ŏn', -mōr'-)   
n.   pl. ox·y·mo·ra (-môr'ə, -mōr'ə) or ox·y·mo·rons
A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist.

[Greek oxumōron, from neuter of oxumōros, pointedly foolish : oxus, sharp; see oxygen + mōros, foolish, dull.]
ox'y·mo·ron'ic (-mə-rŏn'ĭk) adj., ox'y·mo·ron'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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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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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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