paradox | |
1. n. An apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa. | |
"This sentence is false" is a paradox. | |
2. n. A counterintuitive conclusion or outcome. | |
It is an interesting paradox that drinking a lot of water can often make you feel thirsty. | |
3. n. A claim that two apparently contradictory ideas are true. | |
Not having a fashion is a fashion; that's a paradox. | |
4. n. A thing involving contradictory yet interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time.Smith, W. K. and Lewis, M. W. (2011). Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium model | |
5. n. A person or thing having contradictory properties. | |
He is a paradox; you would not expect him in that political party. | |
6. n. An unanswerable question or difficult puzzle, particularly one which leads to a deeper truth. | |
7. n. (obsolete) A statement which is difficult to believe, or which goes against general belief. | |
8. n. The use of counterintuitive or contradictory statements (paradoxes) in speech or writing. | |
9. n. (philosophy) A state in which one is logically compelled to contradict oneself. | |
10. n. (psychotherapy) The practice of giving instructions that are opposed to the therapist's actual intent, with the intention that the client will disobey or be unable to obey. | |