contradiction in terms
noun phrase
: a phrase that contains words which have very different or opposite meanings
I think "working vacation" is a contradiction in terms.
Examples of contradiction in terms in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For the past 20 years, she’s been doing what might, to some, sound like a contradiction in terms: making world-class wines in Idaho.
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Becky Cooper, Travel + Leisure, 12 Aug. 2025
On paper, an electric G-Class sounds like a contradiction in terms.
—New Atlas, 2 Aug. 2025
This is, obviously, a contradiction in terms—Nazism was the antithesis of reason.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 20 July 2023
For most of history, that is, universal literacy was a contradiction in terms.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 21 June 2023
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Becky Cooper, Travel + Leisure, 12 Aug. 2025
On paper, an electric G-Class sounds like a contradiction in terms.
—New Atlas, 2 Aug. 2025
This is, obviously, a contradiction in terms—Nazism was the antithesis of reason.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 20 July 2023
For most of history, that is, universal literacy was a contradiction in terms.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 21 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Contradiction in terms.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contradiction%20in%20terms. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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