paradoxical

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

How to pronounce paradoxical (audio)

, ˌpa-rə- \

Definition of paradoxical

1a : 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

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Examples of paradoxical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Bogunovic says that such paradoxical reactions to benzodiazepines occur in about 1–2 percent of patients. — Lindsay Beyerstein, The New Republic, "What Happened to Jordan Peterson?," 10 Mar. 2020 To begin with, the federal government provides a pretty funny premise, and the wry humor in the environmentalists’ responding brief would be impossible without this initial paradoxical offer from USFS acting as a sort of straight man. — Ephrat Livni, Quartz, "The Forest Service says the Appalachian Trail isn’t “land” in a pipeline fight at SCOTUS," 20 Feb. 2020 Yet the unions’ cozy but paradoxical relationship with officialdom empowers them to block change. — Washington Post, "French unions behind strikes get public funds," 30 Dec. 2019 There are two such paradoxical beings in the 2020 Democratic primary. — Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, "If Bloomberg Really Cared About Climate Change, He Wouldn’t Be Running," 4 Feb. 2020 These projects, expressing the firm’s commitment to democratizing public spaces, anticipated the challenges of reinventing MOMA, which, for ninety years, has stood as a monument to the paradoxical alignment of capital and counterculture. — Jordan Orlando, The New Yorker, "The Once and Future MOMA," 26 Jan. 2020 There is nothing paradoxical about people on the upper tier of the working class playing a leading role in the left. — John B. Judis, Washington Post, "I was a ’60s socialist. Today’s progressives are in danger of repeating my generation’s mistakes.," 21 Jan. 2020 This might be viewed as paradoxical, because on land, as predators get bigger, so do their individual prey. — The Economist, "How cetaceans got so large," 14 Dec. 2019 The iso routes play to Ben Roethlisberger’s paradoxical proclivity for both getting the ball out immediately and extending plays, and the approach shined when built around a superstar like Antonio Brown. — Andy Benoit, SI.com, "Steelers’ Weaknesses on Both Sides of the Ball Exposed in Loss to Patriots," 11 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'paradoxical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Learn More about paradoxical

Dictionary Entries near paradoxical

paradoxical sleep

Statistics for paradoxical

Last Updated

26 Mar 2020

Cite this Entry

“Paradoxical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paradoxical. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020.

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