How to Use oxymoron in a Sentence

oxymoron

noun

• The phrase “cruel kindness” is an oxymoron.
• The thing that most struck me was the oxymoron (no longer) of standing outside in a hot wind.
  — Chris Mooney, Discover Magazine, 6 July 2011
• The Tibetans spend a lot of time living with death, if that isn't an oxymoron.
  — TheWeek, 17 May 2020
• Coaching the All-Star Game is kind of an oxymoron, anyway.
  — Daniel Mano, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2017
• For critics of Marvel’s Phase Four, that might seem like a bit of an oxymoron.
  — Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 May 2023
• No-makeup makeup is the oxymoron that just will not quit.
  — Sable Yong, Allure, 22 June 2017
• What was once an oxymoron is now the increasing norm: Camping is very much on the grid.
  — Jessica Teich, Good Housekeeping, 3 July 2021
• Strength of schedule is an oxymoron the next few weeks for the Patriots.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2019
• The riff-laden metal song may be the best-sounding Nickelback song in years — and no, that is not an oxymoron!
  — Vulture, 7 Oct. 2022
• The concept itself may strike some as something of an oxymoron.
  — Jason Kehe, Wired, 8 July 2020
• Saving money in New York: Some would say it’s an oxymoron.
  — Charlotte Cowles, The Cut, 16 Feb. 2018
• Ashley Chandrasinghe is a player to watch in the future - and that's not an oxymoron.
  — Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
• To give a man no incentive, yet ask him to be a model inmate is an oxymoron.
  — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2024
• Each pound of jumbo shrimp (one of my favorite oxymorons) serves about 3 people at 7 shrimp each.
  — Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 July 2023
• And Irish cuisine, once considered a bit of an oxymoron, is on full display in Dublin.
  — Sean Patrick Flynn, Travel + Leisure, 11 Oct. 2021
• Much like jumbo shrimp or a cool goatee, the concept of a great place to work has become somewhat of an oxymoron.
  — Chloe Berger, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
• Still, a career in fashion sounded like an oxymoron back then.
  — Joshua Levine, WSJ, 19 Aug. 2017
• There’s an oxymoron that floats around the audio industry.
  — Lauren Jackson, New York Times, 7 May 2021
• Linen napkins may seem like an oxymoron but these are more for fashion than function.
  — Jessica Cherner, House Beautiful, 20 Jan. 2023
• But many people consider the phrase to be an Orwellian oxymoron.
  — Robert Hackett, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2020
• The Light Ages is a book about medieval science, which to many casual readers sounds like something of an oxymoron.
  — Chad Orzel, Forbes, 12 May 2021
• Then it was reported that Haredi viewers (the very phrase is something of an oxymoron) were also binge-watching the show.
  — Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2021
• Minute Earth explains: At first, a solar panel window might seem like an oxymoron.
  — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 27 July 2017
• This is the sportiest of the Camrys (no, the words sporty and Camry are no longer oxymorons), complete with quad exhausts and a black roof, spoiler, window surrounds, grille, and wheels.
  — Al Haas, Philly.com, 3 Apr. 2018
• The term liberal in the context of the Roman Catholic Church may be an oxymoron, but this second camp seeks to perpetuate the work and the legacy of Francis.
  — Randall Balmer, Time, 8 May 2025
• Most of the execs in the business think that's an oxymoron.
  — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Jan. 2026
• Requiring years of experience for positions meant for new grads is an oxymoron.
  — Allison Danielsen, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
• Healthy gooning, as any gooner can tell you, is an oxymoron.
  — Daniel Kolitz, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
• The latter sounds like an oxymoron, as the best horror tends to send hearts racing.
  — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Oct. 2025
• Those words are an oxymoron to me.
  — Josh Miller, Southern Living, 15 Aug. 2025