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oxymoron

[ ok-si-mawr-on, -mohr- ]
/ ˌɒk sɪˈmɔr ɒn, -ˈmoʊr- /
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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.”
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
candystring
candyfloss
candypuff
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to oxymoron

adumbration, allegory, alliteration, allusion, analogue, analogy, anaphora, anticlimax, antistrophe, antithesis, aposiopesis, apostrophe, asyndeton, bathos, comparison, conceit, device, echoism, ellipsis, euphemism

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.
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