oxymoron

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“
Talibs, the then external affairs minister Jaswant Singh had called this an "oxymoron" - and most of the world, the West certainly, would have agreed.

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Definitions (4)

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  1. noun A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist.

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Examples (50)

  • In the famous legal decision Brown vs. Board of Education, an oxymoron -- "with all deliberate speed" -- set the clock ticking in the hope that enlightened leaders would have the time needed for the peaceful desegregation of public schools.
  • He emphatically warns there is no such thing as moderate Islam and to call it so is an oxymoron, a contradiction. —  Infidel Bloggers Alliance
  • Too many MPs view them as the Westminster equivalent of that City oxymoron, the automatic bonus, a salary top-up, pure and simple —  Telegraph Blogs
  • Talibs, the then external affairs minister Jaswant Singh had called this an "oxymoron" - and most of the world, the West certainly, would have agreed. —  The Times of India
  • Taking a page from the same playbook that brought us the great Bush oxymoron: "Compassionate Conservatism" ... —  Migra Matters
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Greek oxumōron, from neuter of oxumōros, pointedly foolish : oxus, sharp; see oxygen + mōros, foolish, dull.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin oxymorus, from Greek ὀξύμωρος, in neuter ὀξύμωρον, an expression that seems absurd but has a point, from ὀξύς, sharp, quick, clever, + μωρός, foolish.
 

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/ɑksɪˈmoʊrɑn/
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