paradox
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paradox
- /ˈpæɹ.əˌdɒks/ UK
- /ˈpæɹ.əˌdɑks/ US
- /ˈpɛɹ.əˌdɑks/
Where it comes from
From Middle French paradoxe, from Latin paradoxum, from Ancient Greek παράδοξος (parádoxos, “unexpected, strange”).
noun paradoxes
- An apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa. "This sentence is false" is a paradox.
-
A counterintuitive conclusion or outcome.
It is an interesting paradox that drinking a lot of water can often make you feel thirsty.
Similar: shocker
- A claim that two apparently contradictory ideas are true. Not having a fashion is a fashion; that's a paradox.
- A thing involving contradictory yet interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time.
-
A person or thing having contradictory properties.
He is a paradox; you would not expect him in that political party.
Similar: juxtaposition, contradiction
- An unanswerable question or difficult puzzle, particularly one which leads to a deeper truth. And only by dismantling our preconceptions of age can we be free to understand the paradox: How young are the old?
- A statement which is difficult to believe, or which goes against general belief. Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner / transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the / force of honesty can translate beauty into his / likeness: this was sometime a paradox, but now the / time gives it proof.
- The use of counterintuitive or contradictory statements (paradoxes) in speech or writing. The need for paradox is no doubt rooted deep in the very nature of the use we make of language.
- A state in which one is logically compelled to contradict oneself. Thus, like modern disputants, they aimed either to confute the respondent or to land him in paradox.
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The practice of giving instructions that are opposed to the therapist's actual intent, with the intention that the client will disobey or be unable to obey.
Defiance-based paradox is employed so that the family will actively oppose and deliberately sabotage the prescription.
Similar: reverse psychology
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: contrast, paradoxical, dilemma, contradictory, contradiction, anomaly, discrepancy, aberration, irony, inconsistency, nonsense, oxymoron, absurdity, satire, conflict, travesty
Translations
Every language
noun apparent contradiction which is nonetheless true
| Español | paradoja |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 역설 yeokseol, 패러독스 paereodokseu |
| 日本語 | 逆説 gyakusetsu, パラドックス paradokkusu, 矛盾 mujun |
| 中文 | 悖論 /悖论 bèilùn, 矛盾 máodùn, 佯謬 /佯谬 yángmiù |
| हिन्दी | असत्याभास asatyābhās |
| Português | paradoxo |
| Français | paradoxe |
| Deutsch | Paradoxon, Paradox |
| Italiano | paradosso |
| Ελληνικά | παραδοξολογία paradoxología |
| Română | paradox |
| Русский | парадо́кс paradóks |
| Tiếng Việt | nghịch lý |
| العربية | مُفَارَقَة mufāraqa |
| עברית | פרדוקס |
Talk about this word "paradox." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/paradox. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. paradox. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/paradox "paradox." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/paradox.Cite this
@misc{paradox_2026,
title = {paradox},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/paradox},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
