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
The company, all thoroughly drilled in the Sly/Sylvester dichotomy, laughed heartily.
—
Timothy Crouse, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2025
Here, the margins of the prints often bleed into one another, disrupting distinctions between past and present, public and private, parent and offspring, and fission and fusion, echoing the dichotomies alluded to in My Birth.
—Jessica Simmons-Reid, Artforum, 1 June 2025
She was drawn to the dichotomy of a person stuck in their own grave while people are benefitting from above, making a spectacle of it all.
—Jeryl Brunner, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
McNeill, who dubs himself left-wing and sees Trump as a major threat to democracy, sometimes wrestles with the dichotomy.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dichotomy
Timothy Crouse, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2025
Here, the margins of the prints often bleed into one another, disrupting distinctions between past and present, public and private, parent and offspring, and fission and fusion, echoing the dichotomies alluded to in My Birth.
—Jessica Simmons-Reid, Artforum, 1 June 2025
She was drawn to the dichotomy of a person stuck in their own grave while people are benefitting from above, making a spectacle of it all.
—Jeryl Brunner, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
McNeill, who dubs himself left-wing and sees Trump as a major threat to democracy, sometimes wrestles with the dichotomy.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dichotomy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dichotomy
paradox
Noun
-
Florida is a state of paradoxes, from its history of colonization and relationship to enslavement, to its immigrant communities and conservative politics, to its gorgeous waters and swampy inlands.—
Leila Mottley
June 27,
Literary Hub,
27 June 2025
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These mechanical advances evolve into an extended metaphor for modern life’s digital paradox.—
Simon Parkin,
The Atlantic,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dichotomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dichotomy. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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