paradoxical

adjective

par·​a·​dox·​i·​cal ˌper-ə-ˈdäk-si-kəl 

ˌpa-rə-

1

a

: of the nature of a paradox

the paradoxical theory that global warming will lead to the next Ice Age

b

: inclined to paradoxes

2

: not being the normal or usual kind

a paradoxical pulse

paradoxical drug reactions

paradoxicality

ˌper-ə-ˌdäk-si-ˈka-lə-tē 

ˌpa-rə-

noun

paradoxically

ˌper-ə-ˈdäk-si-k(ə-)lē 

ˌpa-rə-

adverb

paradoxicalness

ˌper-ə-ˈdäk-si-kəl-nəs 

ˌpa-rə-

noun

Examples of paradoxical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And there's also the paradoxical query asked a decade earlier by physicist Enrico Fermi. —Leonard David, Space.com, 17 Mar. 2026

On occasion, that paradoxical combination of the human search for love and the impersonality of the Internet enables a glimpse into someone else’s life. —Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026

And no one is more laide jolie, more sculpted and faultless, more wooden and sexless, than the paradoxical figure who goes by the name of Clavicular. —Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2026

The price of inequality At first glance, this seems paradoxical. —Olivier Sterck, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing paradoxical

• paradoxical sleep

Medical Definition

paradoxical

adjective

par·​a·​dox·​i·​cal ˌpar-ə-ˈdäk-si-kəl 

variants also paradoxic

-sik 

: not being the normal or usual kind

a paradoxical embolism