oxymoron

[ ok-si-mawr-on, -mohr- ]
/ ˌɒk sɪˈmɔr ɒn, -ˈmoʊr- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR oxymoron ON THESAURUS.COM

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.”

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Origin of oxymoron

1650–60; < Late Latin oxymorum < presumed Greek *oxýmōron, neuter of *oxýmōros sharp-dull, equivalent to oxý(s) sharp (see oxy-1) + mōrós dull (see moron)

OTHER WORDS FROM oxymoron

ox·y·mo·ron·ic [ok-see-muh-ron-ik] /ˌɒk si məˈrɒn ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby oxymoron

oxyheme, oxyhemochromogen, oxyhemoglobin, oxyhydrogen, oxymetazoline, oxymoron, oxymorphone, oxymyoglobin, oxyneurine, oxyntic, oxyntic cell
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Content related to oxymoron

“Paradox” vs. “Oxymoron”: How To Tell The (Seemingly Similar) DifferenceLife is full of contradictions, so your only choice is to learn the difference between a paradox or an oxymoron so you know which one you're dealing with.
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Words related to oxymoron

allegory, allusion, analogy, anticlimax, antithesis, bathos, comparison, conceit, device, euphemism, euphuism, exaggeration, expression, flourish, flower, hyperbole, image, imagery, irony, metaphor

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.