paradoxical
Americanadjective
-
having the nature of a paradox; self-contradictory.
-
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
- nonparadoxical adjective
- nonparadoxicalness noun
- paradoxicality noun
- paradoxically adverb
- paradoxicalness noun
- ultraparadoxical adjective
- unparadoxal adjective
- unparadoxical adjective
Etymology
Origin of paradoxical
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.
In a paradoxical way, Mr. Khamenei’s displacement stems from his success.
Matthiessen was this way, too, and his dizzying life and brilliantly varied work were the paradoxical outcomes of what was, as he put it, his “dream of simplicity.”
Yet true to his Ancient Greek lineage, this Oedipus is nothing if not paradoxical, suavely enjoying his privilege while brandishing his egalitarian views.
From Los Angeles Times
This result is clearly paradoxical for two reasons.
From Science Daily
It’s a paradoxical quality of horror films that to be an outsider either qualifies you as a hero or the monster — the insiders are usually just food.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
