oxymoron
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oxymoron
- /ɒksɪˈmɔːɹɒn/ UK
- /ˌɑksiˈmɔɹɑn/ US
- /ɑksɪˈmɔɹɑn/ US
Where it comes from
First attested in the 17th century, noun use of 5th century Latin oxymōrum (adjective), neut. nom. form of oxymōrus (adjective), from Ancient Greek ὀξύμωρος (oxúmōros), compound of ὀξύς (oxús, “sharp, keen, pointed”) (English oxy-, as in oxygen) + μωρός (mōrós, “dull, stupid, foolish”) (English moron (“stupid person”)). Literally "sharp-dull", "keen-stupid", or "pointed-foolish" – itself an oxymoron, hence autological; compare sophomore (literally “wise fool”), influenced by similar analysis. The compound form ὀξύμωρον (oxúmōron) is not found in the extant Ancient Greek sources.
noun oxymorons · oxymora
- A figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect. In Oxymoron jarring phrases join And terms opposed in harmony combine.
- A contradiction in terms. During the past few years, some 200 class-action suits have been filed against food manufacturers, charging them with misuse of the adjective in marketing such edible oxymorons as “natural” Cheetos Puffs, “all-natural” Sun Chips, “all-natural” Naked Juice, “100 percent all-natural” Tyson chicken nug
Opposite: pleonasm, redundancy
Thesaurus
noun
Opposite: pleonasm, redundancy
Translations
Every language
noun figure of speech
| Español | oxímoron |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 모순어법 mosuneobeop |
| 日本語 | 撞着語法 dōchaku gohō, 矛盾語法 mujun gohō |
| 中文 | 矛盾修飾法 /矛盾修饰法 máodùn xiūshìfǎ, 矛盾語 /矛盾语 máodùnyǔ |
| Português | oxímoro, oximoro |
| Français | oxymore, oxymoron |
| Deutsch | Oxymoron |
| Italiano | ossimoro |
| Ελληνικά | οξύμωρο σχήμα oxýmoro schíma |
| Română | oximoron |
| Русский | окси́морон oksímoron, оксю́морон oksjúmoron |
Talk about this word "oxymoron." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/oxymoron. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. oxymoron. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/oxymoron "oxymoron." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/oxymoron.Cite this
@misc{oxymoron_2026,
title = {oxymoron},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/oxymoron},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
