Paradox Meaning
/ˈpæ.ɹəˌdɒks/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa.
nounA counterintuitive conclusion or outcome.
Sentence Examples
The paradox of sport is that it bonds as it divides.
More haste, less speed is a paradox.
CEFR Practice Quiz
It is a ____ that you must lose weight to gain strength in this exercise.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is a ____ that the more choices people have, the less satisfied they often feel with their decisions.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French paradoxe, from Latin paradoxum, from Ancient Greek παράδοξος (parádoxos, “unexpected, strange”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The active sense of living which we all enjoy, before reflection shatters our instinctive world for us, is self-luminous and suggests no paradoxes."
— 1909, William James, A pluralistic universe. Hibbert lectures, page 347:
"According to one version of an ancient paradox, an Athenian is supposed to say "I am a liar." It is then argued that if the statement is true, then he is telling the truth, and is therefore not a liar […]"
— 1962, Abraham Wolf, Textbook of Logic, page 255:
"The most fundamental paradox is that if we're never to use force, we must be prepared to use it and to use it successfully."
— 1983 May 21, Ronald Reagan, Presidential Radio Address:
"How quaint the ways of Paradox! / At common sense she gaily mocks! / Though counting in the usual way years twenty-one I've been alive, / Yet reck'ning by my natal day, / Yet reck'ning by my natal day, / I am a little boy of five!"
— 1879, W. S. Gilbert, “The Pirates of Penzance”, in The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, published 1941:
"You are a paradox of bitch and angel."
— 1999, Virginia Henley, A Year and a Day, →ISBN, page 315:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
It is a ____ that you must lose weight to gain strength in this exercise.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is a ____ that the more choices people have, the less satisfied they often feel with their decisions.