as in paradox
someone or something with qualities or features that seem to conflict with one another
her outfit is a sartorial dichotomy: an elegant gown and ratty old tennis shoes
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Recent Examples of dichotomy
This dichotomy can lead to tensions between feeling and thinking, between being and doing.
—
Katharina Fuchs, Vogue, 31 Dec. 2025
Critchley, glossing Julian of Norwich, draws a distinction between seeing and seeing through creation, but this is a false dichotomy.
—Christian Wiman, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
These false dichotomies are exhausting.
—Chris Schembra, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2025
That dichotomy – Bianco focusing on genuine crime and Democrats playing up their opposition to Trump’s crime and immigration tactics – is worth noting.
—Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dichotomy
Katharina Fuchs, Vogue, 31 Dec. 2025
Critchley, glossing Julian of Norwich, draws a distinction between seeing and seeing through creation, but this is a false dichotomy.
—Christian Wiman, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
These false dichotomies are exhausting.
—Chris Schembra, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2025
That dichotomy – Bianco focusing on genuine crime and Democrats playing up their opposition to Trump’s crime and immigration tactics – is worth noting.
—Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dichotomy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dichotomy
paradox
Noun
-
Thin lids of ice could have sheltered lakes on ancient Mars and kept surface water liquid even as the Red Planet's climate became freezing, according to new research that could solve one of the greater paradoxes of Martian history.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
14 Jan. 2026
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And that’s the beautiful paradox of grief, really.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dichotomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dichotomy. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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