as in contradictions
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 paradoxes
The strong force’s paradoxes make its interactions incredibly difficult to predict.
—
Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2026
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
Those paradoxes of her personality?
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 Dec. 2025
Yet the strategy document inadvertently illustrates the internal contradictions and the paradoxes of the world Trump wants.
—Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2025
Relational quantum mechanics uses similar ideas to make sense of all quantum paradoxes in a precise mathematical way.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
And the most powerful constraints are often paradoxes that can’t be resolved — only engaged.
—Big Think, 27 Oct. 2025
In a hotel room, a melancholy sabra in his forties muses over the paradoxes of the historical destiny of the Jews.
—Susan Sontag, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2025
The film lays bare the tensions and paradoxes of nuclear deterrence, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, which advocates for nuclear arms control.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2026
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
Those paradoxes of her personality?
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 Dec. 2025
Yet the strategy document inadvertently illustrates the internal contradictions and the paradoxes of the world Trump wants.
—Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2025
Relational quantum mechanics uses similar ideas to make sense of all quantum paradoxes in a precise mathematical way.
—Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
And the most powerful constraints are often paradoxes that can’t be resolved — only engaged.
—Big Think, 27 Oct. 2025
In a hotel room, a melancholy sabra in his forties muses over the paradoxes of the historical destiny of the Jews.
—Susan Sontag, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2025
The film lays bare the tensions and paradoxes of nuclear deterrence, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, which advocates for nuclear arms control.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paradoxes
Noun
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In mid-January, a stranger studying American higher education would have noticed contradictions in the system.—
David Ignatius,
Washington Post,
11 Feb. 2026
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Suddenly a lot of contradictions make more sense.—
Andreas Kluth,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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It’s gotten some more action, some deeper mysteries.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
15 Feb. 2026
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Plenty of patients have guessed all along that being a carrier could explain mysteries about their health, Sid said.—
Roxanne Khamsi,
The Atlantic,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Plehn finds the bottom-quark incongruities intriguing.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Feb. 2026
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In another show, with a lesser writer, such incongruities could be read as character inconsistencies, accidental oversights, mistakes.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Speaking of enigmas, Katie Zelem plays for West Ham now on loan after less than five months with London City.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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Yet despite their impressive size, encounters with these enigmas remain exceedingly rare due to the myriad of challenges of studying deep-sea sharks.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Honestly, everything about Bob Weir was dichotomies.—
Alison Weinflash,
Rolling Stone,
18 Feb. 2026
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Desai’s multipart meet-cute lets her challenge neat old-world–new-world dichotomies.—
Sanjena Sathian,
Vulture,
23 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paradoxes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paradoxes. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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