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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paradoxes
Sunstein warns against paradoxes, where well-meaning but rigid rules lead to enforcement paralysis.
—
Paulo Carvão, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Through awe-inspiring visuals and a narration from the filmmaker combining poetry, science and emotions, the film explores the paradoxes of our time.
—Annika Pham, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
This engagement was rife with paradoxes and contradictions.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Normally, going back in time introduces all sorts of nasty paradoxes, like the infamous grandfather paradox, or, less violently, inconsistent histories.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 25 Jan. 2025
These paradoxes twist around the game like briars around an enchanted tower; at the window stands the dungeon master.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2024
Emily regaled the group with explanations of fractals and infinity paradoxes.
—Hazlitt, 9 Dec. 2024
In the City of Angels and Broken Dreams – Los Angeles – polarization and paradoxes are lurking around every corner.
—Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
That Russia can maintain its forward momentum on the battlefield despite catastrophic losses is one of the great paradoxes of the wider war.
—David Axe, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Paulo Carvão, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Through awe-inspiring visuals and a narration from the filmmaker combining poetry, science and emotions, the film explores the paradoxes of our time.
—Annika Pham, Variety, 2 Sep. 2025
This engagement was rife with paradoxes and contradictions.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Normally, going back in time introduces all sorts of nasty paradoxes, like the infamous grandfather paradox, or, less violently, inconsistent histories.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 25 Jan. 2025
These paradoxes twist around the game like briars around an enchanted tower; at the window stands the dungeon master.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2024
Emily regaled the group with explanations of fractals and infinity paradoxes.
—Hazlitt, 9 Dec. 2024
In the City of Angels and Broken Dreams – Los Angeles – polarization and paradoxes are lurking around every corner.
—Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
That Russia can maintain its forward momentum on the battlefield despite catastrophic losses is one of the great paradoxes of the wider war.
—David Axe, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paradoxes
Noun
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This project became both an ethnographic and photographic study of how women inhabit, resist, and reimagine their roles in a context denned by deep contradictions – beauty and chaos, devotion and repression, tradition and transformation.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
5 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, the American pantry is a fast-changing jumble of contradictions and politics.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And all the various mysteries come to a head in the final two episodes and are wrapped up nicely.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Let’s delve into the 11 most compelling UFO sightings across the globe – incidents with documentation, official investigation, and mysteries that have persisted for decades despite analysis.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Unexplained aerial phenomena, commonly branded as UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) and more recently as UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), remain one of history’s most enduring enigmas.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
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These cosmic enigmas defy our everyday understanding of space and time, swallowing light and matter and pushing the laws of physics to the extreme.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paradoxes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paradoxes. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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