as in dichotomy
someone or something with qualities or features that seem to conflict with one another
the paradox of fighting a war for peace
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Recent Examples of paradox
This is the paradox of modern life.
—
Bybryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Iran’s tech entrepreneurs had built their businesses on a paradox.
—Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026
There’s something called the vulnerability paradox.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
Yet office work expanded, as recent invocations of the Jevons paradox rightly note.
—Christopher Marquis, Time, 30 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for paradox
Bybryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Iran’s tech entrepreneurs had built their businesses on a paradox.
—Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026
There’s something called the vulnerability paradox.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026
Yet office work expanded, as recent invocations of the Jevons paradox rightly note.
—Christopher Marquis, Time, 30 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for paradox
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paradox
Noun
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The New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs present an interesting dichotomy.—
Eben Novy-Williams,
Sportico.com,
2 June 2026
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There has been a dichotomy at Newcastle since the first day post-takeover when Amanda Staveley, then a co-owner, spoke about competing for football’s biggest prizes within five to 10 years.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Noun
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While the exact methods remain a mystery, Clarke and colleagues believe the Altar Stone was almost certainly moved in stages, possibly through a combination of overland and river travel routes.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
4 June 2026
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But the possibility of an epochal discovery that radically changes our understanding of the universe’s history and solves one of the greatest mysteries in modern astrophysics is too alluring to ignore.—
Jonathan O'Callaghan,
Scientific American,
4 June 2026
Noun
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The contradiction is especially glaring given the growing focus on chronic disease, obesity, and declining health outcomes among American children.—
Sam Raus,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 May 2026
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Spokespeople for DeSantis did not respond to questions about the apparent contradiction.—
Lawrence Mower,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
Noun
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Even at the height of his fame, there were dubious aspects of his personal life — often self-seeded to sustain his enigma — that poked hellified holes in his impermeability as an entertainer.—
Rodney Carmichael,
NPR,
3 June 2026
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Despite the city and Heal the Bay forming a Santa Monica Pier Task Force, adding netting to deter birds, and taking other measures to improve the water quality, the root of the problem remains an enigma.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
20 May 2026
Noun
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Nobody is more alive to the comic incongruity than the man himself.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
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During the talk, Brooks joked about the seeming incongruity of teaching courses in emotional realism under the shingle of a public policy school.—
Erin Vanderhoof,
Vanity Fair,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Paradox.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paradox. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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