paradox
noun
a statement that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
paradoxes
-
pluralof paradox.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
"Slavery and segregation have been strange paradoxes in a nation founded on the principle that all men are created equal."
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Time-travel paradoxes rest on the false premise that events exist as revisitable locations.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2025
The scientific consensus that the mind consists of intricate activity in an unfathomably complex brain, which, like all organs, is vulnerable to disease and decay, suffers from none of these paradoxes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
Leo highlighted the "outrageous paradoxes" by which enormous amounts of food go wasted in the world "while multitudes of people scramble to find something in the garbage to put in their mouths".
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025
I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so that there is room for paradoxes.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
