oxymoron

[ ok-si-mawr-on, -mohr- ]
/ ˌɒk sɪˈmɔr ɒn, -ˈmoʊr- /

noun, plural ox·y·mo·ra [ok-si-mawr-uh, -mohr-uh] /ˌɒk sɪˈmɔr ə, -ˈmoʊr ə/, ox·y·mor·ons. Rhetoric.

a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.”

Origin of oxymoron

1650–60; < Late Latin oxymorum < presumed Greek *oxýmōron, neuter of *oxýmōros sharp-dull, equivalent to oxý(s) sharp (see oxy-1) + mōrós dull (see moron)

OTHER WORDS FROM oxymoron

ox·y·mo·ron·ic [ok-see-muh-ron-ik] /ˌɒk si məˈrɒn ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby oxymoron

oxyheme, oxyhemochromogen, oxyhemoglobin, oxyhydrogen, oxymetazoline, oxymoron, oxymorphone, oxymyoglobin, oxyneurine, oxyntic, oxyntic cell

Words related to oxymora

allegory, allusion, analogy, anticlimax, antithesis, bathos, comparison, conceit, device, euphemism, euphuism, exaggeration, expression, flourish, flower, hyperbole, image, imagery, irony, metaphor

British Dictionary definitions for oxymora

oxymoron
/ (ˌɒksɪˈmɔːrɒn) /

noun plural -mora (-ˈmɔːrə)

rhetoric an epigrammatic effect, by which contradictory terms are used in conjunction living death; fiend angelical

Word Origin for oxymoron

C17: via New Latin from Greek oxumōron, from oxus sharp + mōros stupid

Cultural definitions for oxymora

oxymoron
[ (ok-see-mawr-on) ]

A rhetorical device in which two seemingly contradictory words are used together for effect: “She is just a poor little rich girl.”