Is oxymoron singular or plural?

Is oxymoron singular or plural?

An oxymoron (usual plural oxymorons, more rarely oxymora) is a figure of speech that juxtaposes concepts with opposing meanings within a word or phrase that creates an ostensible self-contradiction. An oxymoron can be used as a rhetorical device to illustrate a rhetorical point or to reveal a paradox.

What literary device is oxymoron?

figure of speech
An oxymoron is a figure of speech: a creative approach to language that plays with meaning and the use of words in a non-literal sense. This literary device combines words with contradictory definitions to coin a new word or phrase.

What is oxymoron give 5 examples?

Suddenly the room filled with a deafening silence. The comedian was seriously funny. You are clearly confused by the situation you have found yourself in. Her singing was enough to raise the living dead.

Is an oxymoron a paradox?

An oxymoron is the conjunction of two words with meanings that contradict each other. While a paradox is the opposition of ideas or themes, an oxymoron is a contradiction merely between words. An example of oxymoron in literature can be found in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Is awfully nice an oxymoron?

My dictionary defines today’s oxymoron as a “combination of contradictory or incongruous words.” If you stop to think about it, two of our more common oxymorons are “terribly nice” and “awfully good.” Never use “awfully good” when praising someone’s cooking, and never use “terribly nice” to describe a kiss.

Can an oxymoron be a sentence?

While an oxymoron is the combination of two contradictory/opposite words in a single sentence, a paradox is an entire phrase/sentence that appears contradictory but, upon further investigation, could be true or plausible.

Is Big Baby an oxymoron?

1. Big baby. This is an oxymoron because all babies are small. The word ‘big’ is added to emphasise the fact that someone is acting more childishly than you would expect.

Which sentence is an example of an oxymoron?

One oxymoron example is “deafening silence,” which describes a silence that is so overpowering it almost feels deafening, or extremely loud—just as an actual sound would. Oxymorons are often used in everyday conversation and in a breadth of writing, such as literature, poetry, and songwriting.

Can a person be called an oxymoron?

The similarity of “oxymoron” to “moron” which is clearly a person, is clever. Yes. If someone is really, really into Oxi-Clean, and keeps recommending it in situations where it doesn’t make sense, you might call that person an Oxi-Moron.

What is a paradox example?

An example of a paradox is “Waking is dreaming”. Chinnapong / Getty Images. Updated January 20, 2020. A paradox is a figure of speech in which a statement appears to contradict itself. This type of statement can be described as paradoxical.

What is the example of paradox?

An example of a paradox is “Waking is dreaming”. A paradox is a figure of speech in which a statement appears to contradict itself. This type of statement can be described as paradoxical. A compressed paradox comprised of just a few words is called an oxymoron.

What is the effect of an oxymoron?

An oxymoron is a compressed paradox, and so it cannot form part of an orderly flow of logical thinking. It is disorienting and has the effect of stopping the mind, forcing it to quest about for meaning and sense.

How do you use oxymoron in a sentence?

Using Oxymorons . The word “oxymoron” is itself oxymoronic, which is to say contradictory. The word is derived from two ancient Greek words oxys, which means “sharp,” and moronos, which means “dull” or “stupid.”. Take this sentence, for example: “This was a minor crisis and the only choice was to drop the product line.”.

What is the difference between an oxymoron and a paradox?

While close in appearance, there are motivational differences between an oxymoron and a paradox. An oxymoron is a descriptive device that places two opposing words next to or near to one another. A paradox, while also using contradictory terms or thoughts, is generally a longer statement, and a twist of words as well as logic.

What does oxymoron mean examples?

The definition of an oxymoron is a combination of contradictory words. An example of oxymoron is “definite maybe.”.