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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"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe
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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.
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 a paradoxical situation: one superstar, past his peak but still loved; another, at the top of his game but still waiting for the same level of affection.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
Rather than ban the new technology, Estonia mounted a high-stakes and seemingly paradoxical intervention, distributing free chatbots to nearly 20,000 students earlier this year and rethinking pedagogical methods.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026
Much of the nation is in a paradoxical state.
From Salon • May 28, 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
Definitions 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.
