as in contradictions
someone or something with qualities or features that seem to conflict with one another
the paradox of fighting a war for peace
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Recent Examples of paradoxes
One of the great paradoxes of this period is that, from the outside, British cinema doesn’t look very open.
—
John Bleasdale, Variety, 10 Mar. 2025
This engagement was rife with paradoxes and contradictions.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Normally, going back in time introduces all sorts of nasty paradoxes, like the infamous grandfather paradox, or, less violently, inconsistent histories.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 25 Jan. 2025
These paradoxes twist around the game like briars around an enchanted tower; at the window stands the dungeon master.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2024
Emily regaled the group with explanations of fractals and infinity paradoxes.
—Hazlitt, 9 Dec. 2024
In the City of Angels and Broken Dreams – Los Angeles – polarization and paradoxes are lurking around every corner.
—Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
That Russia can maintain its forward momentum on the battlefield despite catastrophic losses is one of the great paradoxes of the wider war.
—David Axe, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Some scholars think mazes embody paradoxes.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024
John Bleasdale, Variety, 10 Mar. 2025
This engagement was rife with paradoxes and contradictions.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Normally, going back in time introduces all sorts of nasty paradoxes, like the infamous grandfather paradox, or, less violently, inconsistent histories.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 25 Jan. 2025
These paradoxes twist around the game like briars around an enchanted tower; at the window stands the dungeon master.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2024
Emily regaled the group with explanations of fractals and infinity paradoxes.
—Hazlitt, 9 Dec. 2024
In the City of Angels and Broken Dreams – Los Angeles – polarization and paradoxes are lurking around every corner.
—Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
That Russia can maintain its forward momentum on the battlefield despite catastrophic losses is one of the great paradoxes of the wider war.
—David Axe, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Some scholars think mazes embody paradoxes.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Paradoxes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paradoxes. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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