paradoxical
Americanadjective
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having the nature of a paradox; self-contradictory.
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Medicine/Medical. not being the normal or usual kind.
Stimulants are a paradoxical, albeit effective, medication used for certain forms of hyperactivity.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of paradoxical
Explanation
“You have to spend money to make money.” That’s a paradoxical statement used by people in business, and it seems to say two opposite things that contradict each other, but if you think about it, it’s actually kind of true. Paradoxical is an adjective that describes a paradox, something with two meanings that don’t make sense together. Its Greek roots translate to “contrary opinion,” and when two different opinions collide in one statement or action, that’s paradoxical. In Shakespeare’s play "Hamlet," Hamlet’s mother marries the man who killed Hamlet’s father, but she doesn’t know it. As Hamlet plots to kill the murderer to protect his mother, he says this paradoxical phrase: “I must be cruel to be kind.”
Vocabulary lists containing paradoxical
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Opposites Attract
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Flowers for Algernon
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Backed by child protection groups, Marquetty unsuccessfully opposed the closed-door proceedings, arguing that it was "paradoxical" for a defendant accused of isolating his victims to be tried behind closed doors.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
REM sleep is often described as "paradoxical sleep" because the body is mostly still while brain activity resembles wakefulness.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
On an obscure research assignment, the narrator travels to the Greek island of Hydra to meet Theódoros Apostolakis, who has created a paradoxical museum for lost things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
At a time when nostalgia for the ’90s is seemingly everywhere, “My Bad” places the decade into context, including its paradoxical freedoms and oppressions, with the intimate, funny rough language of your freakiest, funnest bestie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
It’s paradoxical that an ordinary man like Nemur presumes to devote himself to making other people geniuses.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
