In both examples, the oxymoron joins opposite ideas to make a point (such as that an awkward silence can have a presence comparable to a loud sound). 3. Like other kinds of figurative language, oxymorons (or oxymora) are often found in literature. in rhetoric, "a figure conjoining words or terms apparently contradictory so as to give point to the statement or expression," 1650s, from Greek oxymron, noun use of neuter of oxymros (adj.) The beauty of an oxymoron is that it deliberately combines two words or ideas that contradict one another, not simply to point out how those ideas don't fit, but for the purpose of showing that a contradiction actually does make sense or reveal a deeper meaning. Accessed 1 Mar. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. That's what I did just now. Onomatopeia. 2023 LoveToKnow Media. Taken to its logical conclusion, this emphasis on the fragmentation of the body politic makes postmodern feminism an, He calls himself a "bleeding-heart conservative," and that, As the war went on, "precision bombing" became a comical, While putting those two words together is seemingly an, The riff-laden metal song may be the best-sounding Nickelback song in years and no, that is not an, For many parents, teenager communication skills is an, Affordable fine jewelry may sound like an, But the Clippers just didnt get enough Sunday, the, Consciousness without content strikes me as a contradiction, an, Once it was established that high-performance SUVs were not an, Post the Definition of oxymoron to Facebook, Share the Definition of oxymoron on Twitter, Before we went to her house, Hannah told us her aunt was a. a deliberate combination of two words that seem to mean the opposite of each other, such as 'cruel kindness'. For example, the phrase "virtual reality" is formed from contrasting words. The word "oxymoron" is itself oxymoronic, which is to say contradictory. Starts with o, ends with n, five consonants, three vowels and four syllables. One example of a paradox is the following conflicting idea. Popular @ EnglishClub: Show with prefix and suffix options, only if it has a root word. My brother used to have one of these, his name was Cedric. The contradiction contained within the oxymoron "scalding coolness" emphasizes the couple's conflicting emotions and impossible situation. An oxymoron is a rhetorical device in which seemingly contradictory or incongruous terms appear in conjunction with each other. Paradox. If you're learning English as a second language, you might be confused by these figures of speech. 'Simile' and 'metaphor' are just the beginning. freezer burn. Nordquist, Richard. This contradiction creates a paradoxical image in the reader or listener's mind that generates a new concept or meaning for the whole. Twitter - Facebook Instant PDF downloads. What Is the Figure of Speech Antiphrasis? I believe work should be fun, and you try to crush peoples spirits. A paradox is a rhetorical device or a self-contradictory statement that can actually be true. The cat (and its speed) speed is compared to the wind. However, she lovingly anticipates seeing him again which is a pleasant feeling. 1. Like. "Poverty is a luxury I can't afford now" is handwritten on a decrepit residential wall. An oxymoron is a figure of speech that pairs two opposite words together. Browse 110 oxymoron stock photos and images available, or search for contradiction or irony to find more great stock photos and pictures. Oxymoron. In this poem, Auden utilizes the oxymoron juicy bone. Of course, a bone is generally considered dry and the opposite of juicy. In perhaps the most well-known oxymoron in literature, Juliet describes her feelings about Romeo leaving her presence as sweet sorrow. Shakespeares use of oxymoron indicates that Juliets sorrow and sadness at the thought that Romeo must part from her is also sweet and pleasant. Oxymoron definition, a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in "cruel kindness" or "to make haste slowly." See more. This cascade of oxymorons, placed one after the other, heightens the contrast between Romeo's idea of love and what he's actually experiencing. ( Technology, Education, Science, Psychology, etc. 4 Answers. A paradox is a logical puzzle that seems to contradict itself. The couple's relationship becomes a bright spot for both of them in the midst of war, but ultimately also a source of pain and confusion for Jordan, as he struggles to balance his obligation to fight with his desire to live happily by Maria's side. The phrase original copyis a good illustration of an oxymoron. Effective use of juxtaposition can change the tone of an entire poem. Of a mocking tale or a gibe. ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/awfully-good-examples-of-oxymorons-1691814. 2023. Find scrabble words by points! Solving word puzzles using an underscore or dash ( Example: _a_t_i_a ). Conversation Starters If you could not find the words you were looking for, please submit feedback or leave a comment below. The following example is from Alexander Pope's poem, "Essay on Criticism": The bookful blockhead ignorantly read, With loads of learned lumber in his head, With his own tongue still edifies his ears, And always listning to himself appears. Oxymoron is a 8 letter word, used as a noun, with Latin origins, and has the letters mnooorxy (mnorxy). Approaching the end of the alphabet, there are still more oxymorons to explore. 4. English Links - Study Abroad - Learning English Video Project However, an oxymoron is more specific than a contradiction in terms: it must be crafted intentionally in order to suggest that two contradictory ideas go together because their unlikely combination reveals a deeper truth. Also, they often lead the reader to an underlying truth. Let me know what word list you could not find, and I'll be sure to get it fixed up for you. Oxymorons can enhance the drama in a text. "100 Awfully Good Examples of Oxymorons." Although they have the same purpose in mind, they are used differently in terms of sentence structure and presentation. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs. Oxymoron. An oxymoron is a figure of speech containing words that seem to contradict each other. William Shakespeare was known to sprinkle them throughout his plays, poems, and sonnets. Example: "Parting is such sweet sorrow." William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. However, oxymorons aren't always so serious. The most commonly-used example of an oxymoron is 'jumbo shrimp,' as a shrimp is small by definition and therefore cannot be jumbo. The distinction between the two is clear (now). Provide words that can be used twice or more in one sentence with example sentences. ra (-mr) A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist. But once you become fluent in English, it's easy to recognize such oxymorons for the figures of speech that they are. He enjoyed writing things that weren't meant to be taken literally, simply pondered upon. Parts of Speech It is also comedic in terms of behavior, both in terms of a man acting like a child or a child behaving like a man.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'literarydevices_net-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_14',131,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-literarydevices_net-large-mobile-banner-1-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'literarydevices_net-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_15',131,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-literarydevices_net-large-mobile-banner-1-0_1');.large-mobile-banner-1-multi-131{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:15px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:15px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;min-width:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}. 1. conjoining contradictory terms (as in `deafening silence'). "100 Awfully Good Examples of Oxymorons." WH- Question Words Word lists are in the order of the most common words and most searched. Be sure to consider context, and connotation in addition to readability when choosing an alternatitive word. Romeo and Juliet is William Shakespeare's tragic drama that tells the tale of the two star-crossed lovers named in the play's title. To save this word, you'll need to log in. The shackles of an old love straitened him, His honour rooted in dishonour stood, And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true. A good example of an oxymoron is the sound of silence. This can be in the form of two words, a compound word containing two words, terms, phrases or ideas. We found a total of 35 words by unscrambling the letters in oxymoron. If Holdens claim is that he is wonderful at being an untruthful person, then he casts doubt as to the truth of his own statement to the reader about being a terrific liar as well. The audience was a failure. An oxymoron term is a literary figure of speech in which opposite or contradictory words, phrases, terms or ideas genuine imitation. Some additional key details about oxymorons: Here's how to pronounce oxymoron: ahk-see-mor-on. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Delivered to your inbox! With good, and bad, and worse, alike prolific, Too much of one sort would be soporific;. For some real-world examples of oxymorons in writing, review a few lines from literature and songs. Analyzes words to predict audience familiarity and provide insights as to how the use of the word may affect readability metrics. Click these words to find out how many points they are worth, their definitions, and all the other words that can be made by unscrambling the letters from these words. This figure of speech is clever in that utilizing the word real to describe something that is fake actually lends a sense of truth and authenticity to something that is, by nature, untrue and inauthentic. 2001 - 2023 Oxymoron.info - All rights reserved. Get a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 Lit Terms we cover. Paul Simon wrote the song The Sounds of Silence about the difficulty people have in communicating with one another, but the lyrics were later interpreted as a reference to the Vietnam War (a war that many would say was full of contradictions): Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence. In this poem, Lord Byron uses the oxymoron melancholy merriment to describe the feelings and connections between sadness and joy. An Oxymoron is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words, such as 'Cruel Kindness' or 'Jumbo Shrimp' It comes from the Greek words, If you're referring to oxymoron in plural, both, The words in an oxymoron don't need to to be glued together, as in "heavy lightness" or "serious vanity." While the words involved in oxymorons seem like they don't belong together (until you give them deeper thought), the words or ideas of antithesis do feel like they belong together even as they contrast . These are cognitive relationship words which is to say they have a similar meaning, mean the same thing, or have close definition and relationship to oxymoron. No it isn't. Actually, it is. Yet, original copy as an oxymoron commonly and figuratively means that the content of the copy is original. Reading these words together will often cause a reader to pause and think about what the writer is trying to convey. Is this the tiny town from Footloose? 12. An oxymoron is a figure of speech made up of words with very different meanings. In each example, the oxymoron is underlined. The contradiction contained in "nakedly dressed" echoes the impossibility of the hybrids Ada draws, and more importantly, it expresses both Van's feeling that he can see into her soul despite the clothes covering her body, his yearning for her such that her clothes only suggest to him her body beneath them, and at the same time (because it's an oxymoron and the words contradict) the impossibility of the siblings' relationship. Remember, not all synonyms are suitable replacements in all contexts. insertListLink('', 1, 2, 'endfirsth2'). For example, "good" and "bad" are antonyms. You know what it looks like but what is it called? The "nakedly dressed" oxymoron immediately follows the description of Ada's drawings, in which she combines together unlikely species: just as oxymorons conjoin unlikely words and ideas. 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