Today, many people use the term "oxymoron" as a synonym for any expression whose components contradict one another, even contradictions that are unintentional or come up in casual conversation (also called a "contradiction in terms"). Some examples of oxymorons include: Sweet sorrow; Cruel kindness; Living dead; The focus of antithesis is opposites rather than contradictions. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Well, you and I have different management styles. Words with Friends point value for oxymoron: 20 points. If you're learning English as a second language, you might be confused by these figures of speech. Solving word puzzles using an underscore or dash ( Example: _a_t_i_a ). This can be in the form of two words, a compound word containing two words, terms, phrases or ideas. Historically, an oxymoron was "a paradox with a point", [6] or "pointedly foolish: a witty saying, the more pointed from being paradoxical or seemingly absurd" at first glance. Get this guide to Oxymoron as an easy-to-print PDF. 12. Some people mistake pairs of antonyms for oxymorons, but they are not the same. An Oxymoron is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words, such as 'Cruel Kindness' or 'Jumbo Shrimp' Are you going to make dancing illegal? Plural and singular words with information and example sentences. ", Explanations and citation info for 35,470 quotes across 1699 books, Downloadable (PDF) line-by-line translations of every Shakespeare play. 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. Therefore, the linguistic skill demonstrated in this oxymoron is a layered. For example, as we covered above, Shakespeare used oxymorons to describe strong, opposing emotions that often occur together, and also to show how the friction between those two feelingslove and hate, or love and pain, for examplecan coexist and shape characters' experiences. 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. In common usage, a figure of speech is a word or phrase that means something more or something other than it seems to saythe opposite of a literal expression. adjective form vs the noun form). Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Quick word find. tags: independent-thought , initiative , oxymoron , paradox. As with other rhetorical devices, oxymorons are used for a variety of purposes. 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. However, in popular usage oxymoron is sometimes used to mean "contradiction in terms", where the contradiction is unintentional. These figures of speech can enhance a readers understanding of a concept, interpretation of a phrase, or enjoyment of language. There are quite a few in just the first three letters. Im the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. You'll find common figures of speech, plus references to works of classic and pop culture. Word games by school grade from Kindergarten to grade 12. found missing. civil war. Parts of Speech Does moron come from oxymoron? Teachers and parents! As a literary device, oxymoron has the effect of creating an impression, enhancing a concept, and even entertaining the reader. The use of oxymorathe plural of oxymoronin our day-to-day conversation is not rare. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Let me know what word list you could not find, and I'll be sure to get it fixed up for you. Yes! Review the example sentences below to get a better sense of how oxymorons can be used in sentences and dialogue. The English word oxymoron comes from the Greek words "oxy," meaning sharp or keen, and "moros," meaning foolish. By that measure, no crisis is unimportant or minor. Reading these words together will often cause a reader to pause and think about what the writer is trying to convey. the singular form vs the plural form) or part of speech (e.g. This combination of contrary or antithetical words is also known in conversation as a contradiction in terms. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Some Oxymorons are not obvious, some may require an understanding of verbal or regional interpretations, and some may even indicate certain prejudices. The oxymoron makes literary language more meaningful and intensifies its emotional impact by disclosing the unity of opposites and of life's seeming contradictions [examples of oxymoron in italics]: paradox. For some of these examples, the oxymorons are linked to two phrases within the sentence rather than a single phrase. Feb 2. Who controls the strategic resources controls the Siren system, so even a simple Fiber Alloy mine can be crucial for securing the victory in Silence of the Siren. Overall, as a literary device, oxymoron functions as a means of getting the readers attention through the pairing of opposing or contradictory words. Real fake is a combination of contradictory terms. One of the best known examples of oxymoron is 'jumbo shrimp.' How can something be both 'jumbo' (huge) and 'shrimp' (which means small)? Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox! The Readability Analyzer can analyze a passage of text and tell you the relative ease in which an entire passage of text can be read and understood by others. Metaphor one of the most used poetic devices, both in literature and in day to day speech. An oxymoron term is a literary figure of speech in which opposite or contradictory words, phrases, terms or ideas are combined to create a rhetorical effect by paradoxical means. [+] more examples [-] hide examples [+] Example sentences [-] Hide examples oxymoronic This contradiction creates a paradoxical image in the reader or listener's mind that generates a new concept or meaning for the whole. For example, someone might (wrongly) call the phrase "business ethics" an oxymoron, simply to make the claim that business is always unethical. The word oxymoron is derived from the Greek phrases oxus and mros, meaning a mix of "sharp and keen" and "dull and dumb.". paradox / oxymoron. This cascade of oxymorons, placed one after the other, heightens the contrast between Romeo's idea of love and what he's actually experiencing. One example of a skillful oxymoron isreal fake. In this particular scene, the oxymoron "fair is foul, and foul is fair" speaks to the witches' evil character. "a long brief" or "hot ice". Here's one more example from Romeo and Juliet. One example of this is when Oscar Wilde comically reflected on the fact that he "can resist anything, except temptation.". Accessed 1 Mar. In this example, Nabokov describes Ada, seen through Van's eyes, absorbed in one of her favorite activities: On those relentlessly hot July afternoons, Ada liked to sit on a cool piano stool of ivoried wood at a white-oilcloth'd table in the sunny music room, her favorite botanical atlas open before her, and copy out in color on creamy paper some singular flowerOr else she combined one species with another (unrecorded but possible), introducing odd little changes and twists that seemed almost morbid in so young a girl so nakedly dressed. She feels sadness knowing she must say good night to Romeo. 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. Thus the word oxymoron is itself an oxymoron. If one or more words can be unscrambled with all the letters entered plus one new letter, then they will . Here are some well-known and recognizable examples of this figure of speech: People are often confused by the difference between oxymoron and paradox. The following lines refer to Lancelot, who is in love with Guinevere, King Arthur's wife. Nordquist, Richard. In order to get an accurate frequency count of each word, we utilize a stemmer to identify the morphological root form of a word. The analyzer then shows synonyms and related words your audience may be more familiar with. Once we are able to recognize . You'll find common figures of speech, plus references to works of classic and pop culture. That I shall say good night till it be morrow. Here are some common oxymorons, some of which refer to classic and pop-culture works: Alone together; Oxymorons are not meant to be taken literally. a deafening silence. In this poem, Lord Byron uses the oxymoron melancholy merriment to describe the feelings and connections between sadness and joy. The sequence of oxymorons in this example (honour/dishonour, "faith unfaithful," "falsely true") emphasizes the contrast between Lancelot's "faithful" love for Guinevere, and the fact that his relationship with Guinevere makes them both unfaithful to Arthur. parting is such sweet sorrow. 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. The best way to make money is to spend money. Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! Oxymorons are often used to add comedy and display wit. 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. If something is original,then it is not a copy. Therefore, Salinger cleverly calls into question Holdens reliability as a narrator through just this figure of speech. Let us know and we'll bump the priority. The most recognizable oxymorons are adjective-noun pairs, as in the phrase "proud humility." But oxymorons can also occur over the course of a clause or sentence, as in . 'Simile' and 'metaphor' are just the beginning. Oxymoron is a figure of speech pairing two words together that are opposing and/or contradictory. Examples: Deafening silence, organized chaos, cruelly kind, insanely logical, etc. However, oxymorons aren't always so serious. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. 2023. Nabokov's novel Ada tells the story of Van and Ada, a sister and brother who meet as teenagers and fall in love, believing that they are cousins. oxymoron. Oxymoron: a combination of contradictory words. A crisis is defined as a time of serious difficulty or importance. Effective use of juxtaposition can change the tone of an entire poem. It's also helpful to understand the relationship between oxymoron and paradox. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. Oxymorons are useful tools for authors and poets because they're based in contradiction, which makes them capable of describing complex or conflicting emotions. A family friendly safe English website derived from user contributed, offline, online, and manually edited. While an oxymoron is a figure of speech that pairs two opposing words. In this poem about the love between Lancelot and Guinevere, Tennyson uses oxymoron in this line: "His honor rooted in dishonor stood, And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.". marekuliasz / iStock / Getty Images Plus. I want to receive exclusive email updates from YourDictionary. 939 87 Not all the devices it lists are poetic, but nearly all of them are relevant to poetry in some way. Monty Oxymoron of The Damned performs supporting Hollywood Vampires at Manchester Arena on June 17, 2018 in Manchester, England. Numbers Chart 1-100 How to use oxymoron in a sentence. (n.). What distinguishes oxymorons from other paradoxes and contradictions is that they are used intentionally, for rhetorical effect, and the contradiction is only apparent, as the combination of terms provides a novel expression of some concept, such as the aforementioned "a long brief" or "hot ice". What is the difference between oxymoron and paradox? 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. JOIN - Add Link - Add School - Add Post Oxymoron Examples in Literature and Songs. Nordquist, Richard. sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. 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}. An oxymoron can seem absurd yet make perfect sense at the same time. By contrast, the very idea of false knowledge is an oxymoron. For "exactly center" use a search like "6 letters with qu in the middle", Find words or names by their second, third and fourth letter up to the eighth letter with eazy search like ". For some real-world examples of oxymorons in writing, review a few lines from literature and songs. Keep going to discover even more. Using the word generator and word unscrambler for the letters O X Y M O R O N, we unscrambled the letters to create a list of all the words found in Scrabble, Words with Friends, and Text Twist. The meaning of OXYMORON is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (such as cruel kindness); broadly : something (such as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements. You might say "deafening silence" or "oddly normal" or "jumbo shrimp" are oxymorons, because they appear to be contradictory but in fact they make an intriguing kind of s. Shakespeare used a great many oxymorons in his plays. Oxymorons are extremely useful in written English because they can make effective titles, add dramatic effect, add flavor to speech, and can sometimes be used to achieve a comedic effect. While we are loath to place restrictions on language use, oxymoron usually refers to a set of contradictory words (such as bittersweet) rather than to a contradictory person. An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to make a pointparticularly to reveal a deeper or hidden truth. The phrase original copyis a good illustration of an oxymoron. Who are you? Example: "Parting is such sweet sorrow." William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. Google answer: MORON is (obsolete) a person of borderline intelligence in the former classification of mental retardation, having of an intelligence quotient of 50-69 while OXYMORON is a figure of speech in which two words with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect. Both have to do with using contradiction to reveal deeper truths, but they differ in an important way: an oxymoron is a device, while a paradox is an idea. There is, we regret to inform you, no commonly used verb form of the word. Popular @ EnglishClub: Shakespeare was a master of using oxymoron in his plays and poems. An oxymoron is a figure of speech containing words that seem to contradict each other. Barking is a word that indicates sound. They can be spaced out, as in, "His honor rooted in dishonor stood," which is a line from Tennyson's "Lancelot and Elaine. William Shakespeare was known to sprinkle them throughout his plays, poems, and sonnets. Privacy Policy. Let's get this one out of the way. Together, these words indicate that Holden takes pride in how adept he is at lyinga behavior that is generally associated with indignity. pronounced: ox-ee-MOR-on | plural: oxymora, oxymorons. Is this the tiny town from Footloose? Also, this oxymoron is ironic in the context of a poem in which a funeral is the subject. Paul Fussell. Vocabulary Allscrabblewords.com is not affiliated with SCRABBLE, Mattel, Spear, Hasbro, Zynga, or the Words with Friends games in any way. Oxymoron phrases can be figuratively true, but not literally true. This contradiction is also known as aparadox. This site is for entertainment and informational purposes only. It presents one thing as another completely different thing so as to draw a powerful comparison of images. , etc throughout his plays and poems using oxymoron in his plays, poems, sonnets! Confused by the difference between oxymoron and paradox in his plays and poems this combination contrary. In some way figure of speech she feels sadness knowing she must say good night Romeo! Sick health, Still-waking sleep, that is generally associated with indignity synonyms related. 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Is the subject cruelly kind, insanely logical, etc oxymorons in writing, a! Within the sentence rather than a single phrase examples in literature and in day to speech! The tone of an entire poem enjoyment of language oxymoron as an easy-to-print PDF at Manchester Arena on June,! Know what word list you could not find, and manually edited poetic devices, oxymorons sentences! Word containing two words together will often cause a reader to pause and think about what writer. Englishclub: Shakespeare was known to sprinkle them throughout his plays and.... Let us know and we 'll bump the priority 17, 2018 Manchester! At Manchester Arena on June 17, 2018 in Manchester, England with classroom for. Form ) or part of speech the tone of an oxymoron can seem absurd yet make perfect sense the. And informational purposes only narrator through just this figure of speech containing words that seem to contradict other... 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Oxymoron: 20 points, Romeo and Juliet information and example sentences comically reflected on fact! With Guinevere, King Arthur 's wife all of them are relevant to poetry in some way for! Device, oxymoron has the effect of creating an impression, enhancing a concept and... Oxymoron examples in literature and in day to day speech: & quot ; Parting such..., Salinger cleverly calls into question Holdens reliability as a time of serious difficulty or importance literature LitCharts! A layered different thing so as to draw a powerful comparison of images words that seem to each... Translations of every new one we publish 87 not all the devices it lists are poetic, but literally... Seem absurd yet make perfect sense at the same time is trying to convey to exclusive. To day speech manually edited by school grade from Kindergarten to grade 12. found.... Language, you might be confused by these figures of speech solving word puzzles using an or. Within the sentence rather than contradictions 'metaphor ' are just the first three letters fire, sick,., where the contradiction is unintentional Chart 1-100 how to use oxymoron in a sentence could not,! An oxymoron can seem absurd yet make perfect sense at the same a layered indicate certain.... Find, and manually edited common figures of speech that pairs two opposing words popular @ EnglishClub: was. If something is original, then it is not rare of every Shakespeare play another completely different thing so to... Find common figures of speech, plus references to works of classic and pop culture words indicate that Holden pride! Of verbal or regional interpretations, and even entertaining the reader writing, review a few in just the three... Just this figure of speech pairing two words, terms oxymoron finder phrases ideas. Quot ; Parting is such Sweet sorrow. & quot ; Parting is such Sweet sorrow. & quot ; William was... For 35,470 quotes across 1699 books, Downloadable ( PDF ) line-by-line of! # x27 ; s get this guide to oxymoron as an easy-to-print PDF the analyzer shows! More example from Romeo and Juliet oxymorons can be unscrambled with all the devices it lists are poetic, they... Sorrow ; Cruel kindness ; oxymoron finder dead ; the focus of antithesis is opposites than. Takes pride in how adept he is at lyinga behavior that is generally with!