3 entries found for oxymoron

ox·y·mo·ron (ks-môrn, -mr-)
n. pl. ox·y·mo·ra (-môr, -mr) or ox·y·mo·rons

A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist.


[Greek oxumron, from neuter of oxumros, pointedly foolish  : oxus, sharp; see oxygen + mros, foolish, dull.]

oxy·mo·ronic (-m-rnk) adj.
oxy·mo·roni·cal·ly adv.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

oxymoron

\Ox`y*mo"ron\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ???, fr. ??? pointedly foolish; ??? sharp + ??? foolish.] (Rhet.) A figure in which an epithet of a contrary signification is added to a word; e. g., cruel kindness; laborious idleness.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

oxymoron

n : conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence')

Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University