paradox
Meanings
Plural: paradoxes
Noun
- (logic) a statement that contradicts itself
- "`I always lie' is a paradox because if it is true it must be false"
- An apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa.
- A counterintuitive conclusion or outcome.
- A claim that two apparently contradictory ideas are true.
- A thing involving contradictory yet interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time.
- A person or thing having contradictory properties.
- An unanswerable question or difficult puzzle, particularly one which leads to a deeper truth.
- A statement which is difficult to believe, or which goes against general belief.
- The use of counterintuitive or contradictory statements (paradoxes) in speech or writing.
- A state in which one is logically compelled to contradict oneself.
- The practice of giving instructions that are opposed to the therapist's actual intent, with the intention that the client will disobey or be unable to obey.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle French paradoxe, from Latin paradoxum, from Ancient Greek παράδοξος (parádoxos, “unexpected, strange”).
Synonyms
contradiction, enigma, juxtaposition, koan, puzzle, quandary, reverse psychology, riddle, shocker
Scrabble Score: 17
paradox is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordparadox is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
paradox is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary