oxymoron
[ ok-si-mawr-on, -mohr- ]
/ ˌɒk sɪˈmɔr ɒn, -ˈmoʊr- /
noun, plural ox·y·mo·ra [ok-si-mawr-uh, -mohr-uh] /ˌɒk sɪˈmɔr ə, -ˈmoʊr ə/, ox·y·mor·ons. Rhetoric.
a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.”
Words nearby oxymoron
oxyheme, oxyhemochromogen, oxyhemoglobin, oxyhydrogen, oxymetazoline, oxymoron, oxymorphone, oxymyoglobin, oxyneurine, oxyntic, oxyntic cell
Origin of oxymoron
OTHER WORDS FROM oxymoron
ox·y·mo·ron·ic [ok-see-muh-ron-ik] /ˌɒk si məˈrɒn ɪk/, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for oxymoron
oxymoron
/ (ˌɒksɪˈmɔːrɒn) /
noun plural -mora (-ˈmɔːrə)
rhetoric an epigrammatic effect, by which contradictory terms are used in conjunctionliving death; fiend angelical
Word Origin for oxymoron
C17: via New Latin from Greek oxumōron, from oxus sharp + mōros stupid
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cultural definitions for oxymoron
oxymoron
[ (ok-see-mawr-on) ]
A rhetorical device in which two seemingly contradictory words are used together for effect: “She is just a poor little rich girl.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.