Paradox
noun
A statement or situation that may be true but seems impossible or difficult to understand because it contains two opposite facts or characteristics.
It's a paradox that in such a rich country there can be so much poverty.
Often appears as...
- paradox of choice
- paradox of plenty
noun
An idea or situation that is made up of two opposite things and that seems impossible but is actually true or possible.
Russell's paradox is a famous example in the philosophy of logic.
Often appears as...
- russell's paradox
- quantum paradox
Usage tips
Academic
noun
Something that challenges the normal rules or theories.
The grandfather paradox is a well-known problem in the theory of time travel.
Often appears as...
- grandfather paradox
- twin paradox
Usage tips
Technical
noun
A statement or situation that may be true but seems impossible or difficult to understand because it contains two opposite facts or characteristics.
It's a paradox that in such a rich country there can be so much poverty.
Often appears as...
- paradox of choice
- paradox of plenty
noun
An idea or situation that is made up of two opposite things and that seems impossible but is actually true or possible.
Russell's paradox is a famous example in the philosophy of logic.
Often appears as...
- russell's paradox
- quantum paradox
Usage tips
Academic
noun
Something that challenges the normal rules or theories.
The grandfather paradox is a well-known problem in the theory of time travel.
Often appears as...
- grandfather paradox
- twin paradox
Usage tips
Technical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Common Confusion
Remember, a paradox seems contradictory but can reveal a deeper truth.
Calling a lazy person energetic is a simple contradiction, not a paradox.
Pro Tip 2/3Context Sensitivity
Use 'paradox' to describe complex issues, not simple opposites.
It's a paradox how the quietest students often have the loudest minds.
Pro Tip 3/3Figurative Language
'Paradox' is used in literature to create thoughtful observations.
The poet wrote, 'Death, that dark spirit, in his nervy arm doth lie.'
Pro Tip 1/3Common Confusion
Remember, a paradox seems contradictory but can reveal a deeper truth.
Calling a lazy person energetic is a simple contradiction, not a paradox.
Pro Tip 2/3Context Sensitivity
Use 'paradox' to describe complex issues, not simple opposites.
It's a paradox how the quietest students often have the loudest minds.
Pro Tip 3/3Figurative Language
'Paradox' is used in literature to create thoughtful observations.
The poet wrote, 'Death, that dark spirit, in his nervy arm doth lie.'
Pro Tip 1/3Common Confusion
Remember, a paradox seems contradictory but can reveal a deeper truth.
Calling a lazy person energetic is a simple contradiction, not a paradox.
Pro Tip 2/3Context Sensitivity
Use 'paradox' to describe complex issues, not simple opposites.
It's a paradox how the quietest students often have the loudest minds.
Pro Tip 3/3Figurative Language
'Paradox' is used in literature to create thoughtful observations.
The poet wrote, 'Death, that dark spirit, in his nervy arm doth lie.'
Compare with
anomalyconsistencycontradictionconundrumenigmaequivocateironymysteryoxymoronpuzzle
Never forget "Paradox"
Humans forget easily. That's why you should download WordUp: Smart reminders, word games, AI practice, and much more!
Video examples
Jonathan Foley: The...
one of the great inland seas of the world. But there's kind of a paradox here, because it looks like it's surrounded by desert. Why is this sea here? The reason it's here is because, on the right-hand side, you see two little rivers kind of coming down through the sand, feeding this basin with water.
Video examples
What is Zeno's Dichotomy...
should take an infinite amount of time. In other words, it says that all motion is impossible. This conclusion is clearly absurd, but where is the flaw in the logic? To resolve the paradox, it helps to turn the story into a math problem. Let's supposed that Zeno's house is one mile from the park
Video examples
What does my headscarf...
be less likely to be offered the job, and be paid less than Johns. The unconscious bias is there, but we just have to look at how we can move past it. And, you know, it's interesting, there's some research that talks about why this is the case and it's called the merit paradox.
Video examples
How statistics can be...
sometimes known as a lurking variable, which is a hidden additional factor that significantly influences results. Here, the hidden factor is the relative proportion of patients who arrive in good or poor health. Simpson's paradox isn't just a hypothetical scenario.
Video examples
Inside the mind of a...
I realized that in a world crowded with variation and contradiction, foolish preachers, only foolish preachers like I used to be, see no paradox in the myths and fictions they use to assert authenticity. So I understood the vital importance of self-knowledge,
Video examples
Learning is bravery PIPE...
gives us a way to protect ourselves now we make the menu longer instead of making one dish that people are willing to cry drive across town to buy and so we end up with the hacker paradox right number one we need to care enough to
Video examples
Jeffrey Brown: How we...
It was like we were in two completely different worlds. And so as I contemplated all of this and looked at what was happening, I suddenly realized that there was a paradox that was emerging inside of me,
Video examples
The secret to desire in...
I turn on my desires, I wake up when Now, in this paradox between love and desire, what seems to be so puzzling is that the very ingredients that nurture love -- mutuality, reciprocity,
Video examples
Can you solve the...
As the troll stomps off in anger, the paradoxes cheer you for winning them their freedom, and promise to lead you to the treasure at the top of the stairs. If you can reach it.
Video examples
Andrea Ghez’s Black Hole...
escape not even light we don't have the physics to describe what a black hole is because it leads to a paradox a breakdown in our understanding of how the universe works
Video examples
Jonathan Foley: The...
one of the great inland seas of the world. But there's kind of a paradox here, because it looks like it's surrounded by desert. Why is this sea here? The reason it's here is because, on the right-hand side, you see two little rivers kind of coming down through the sand, feeding this basin with water.
Video examples
What is Zeno's Dichotomy...
should take an infinite amount of time. In other words, it says that all motion is impossible. This conclusion is clearly absurd, but where is the flaw in the logic? To resolve the paradox, it helps to turn the story into a math problem. Let's supposed that Zeno's house is one mile from the park
Video examples
What does my headscarf...
be less likely to be offered the job, and be paid less than Johns. The unconscious bias is there, but we just have to look at how we can move past it. And, you know, it's interesting, there's some research that talks about why this is the case and it's called the merit paradox.
Video examples
How statistics can be...
sometimes known as a lurking variable, which is a hidden additional factor that significantly influences results. Here, the hidden factor is the relative proportion of patients who arrive in good or poor health. Simpson's paradox isn't just a hypothetical scenario.
Video examples
Inside the mind of a...
I realized that in a world crowded with variation and contradiction, foolish preachers, only foolish preachers like I used to be, see no paradox in the myths and fictions they use to assert authenticity. So I understood the vital importance of self-knowledge,
Video examples
Learning is bravery PIPE...
gives us a way to protect ourselves now we make the menu longer instead of making one dish that people are willing to cry drive across town to buy and so we end up with the hacker paradox right number one we need to care enough to
Video examples
Jeffrey Brown: How we...
It was like we were in two completely different worlds. And so as I contemplated all of this and looked at what was happening, I suddenly realized that there was a paradox that was emerging inside of me,
Video examples
The secret to desire in...
I turn on my desires, I wake up when Now, in this paradox between love and desire, what seems to be so puzzling is that the very ingredients that nurture love -- mutuality, reciprocity,
Video examples
Can you solve the...
As the troll stomps off in anger, the paradoxes cheer you for winning them their freedom, and promise to lead you to the treasure at the top of the stairs. If you can reach it.
Video examples
Andrea Ghez’s Black Hole...
escape not even light we don't have the physics to describe what a black hole is because it leads to a paradox a breakdown in our understanding of how the universe works
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Hugo Black
American Judge
It is the paradox of life that the way to miss pleasure is to seek it first. The very first condition of lasting happiness is that a life should be full of purpose, aiming at something outside self.
Quote examples
George A. Moore
Irish Novelist
An idea has been running in my head that books lose and gain qualities in the course of time, and I have worried over it a good deal, for what seemed to be a paradox, I felt to be a truth.
Quote examples
Joy Page
American Actress
After an eternity of seeking the sudden threshold of seeing and finding leaves one filled with a strange paradox of ecstasy and grief. I was born to see.
Quote examples
John Ruskin
English Writer
It seems a fantastic paradox, but it is nevertheless a most important truth, that no architecture can be truly noble which is not imperfect.
Quote examples
Jeremy Northam
English Actor
Surely the job of fiction is to actually tell the truth. It's a paradox that's at the heart of any kind of storytelling.
Quote examples
John Fowles
English Novelist
Most marriages recognize this paradox: Passion destroys passion; we want what puts an end to wanting what we want.
Quote examples
Gilbert K. Chesterton
English Writer
The paradox of courage is that a man must be a little careless of his life even in order to keep it.
Quote examples
Wayne Dyer
American Psychologist
You are doomed to make choices. This is life's greatest paradox.
Quote examples
Denis Villeneuve
Canadian Director
In contradiction and paradox, you can find truth.
Quote examples
John Hurt
British Actor
Life is full of ironies and paradoxes.
Quote examples
Hugo Black
American Judge
It is the paradox of life that the way to miss pleasure is to seek it first. The very first condition of lasting happiness is that a life should be full of purpose, aiming at something outside self.
Quote examples
George A. Moore
Irish Novelist
An idea has been running in my head that books lose and gain qualities in the course of time, and I have worried over it a good deal, for what seemed to be a paradox, I felt to be a truth.
Quote examples
Joy Page
American Actress
After an eternity of seeking the sudden threshold of seeing and finding leaves one filled with a strange paradox of ecstasy and grief. I was born to see.
Quote examples
John Ruskin
English Writer
It seems a fantastic paradox, but it is nevertheless a most important truth, that no architecture can be truly noble which is not imperfect.
Quote examples
Jeremy Northam
English Actor
Surely the job of fiction is to actually tell the truth. It's a paradox that's at the heart of any kind of storytelling.
Quote examples
John Fowles
English Novelist
Most marriages recognize this paradox: Passion destroys passion; we want what puts an end to wanting what we want.
Quote examples
Gilbert K. Chesterton
English Writer
The paradox of courage is that a man must be a little careless of his life even in order to keep it.
Quote examples
Wayne Dyer
American Psychologist
You are doomed to make choices. This is life's greatest paradox.
Quote examples
Denis Villeneuve
Canadian Director
In contradiction and paradox, you can find truth.
Quote examples
John Hurt
British Actor
Life is full of ironies and paradoxes.
Example 1 of 10
WordUp Chrome Extension
As you browse the web instantly look up words you don’t know.
Get Chrome Extension