"paradoxical" meaning in English

See paradoxical in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˌpæɹəˈdɒksɪkəl/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˌpɛɹəˈdɑːksɪkəl/ [General-American] Audio: en-us-paradoxical.ogg Forms: more paradoxical [comparative], most paradoxical [superlative]
Etymology: From paradox + -ical. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|paradox|ical}} paradox + -ical Head templates: {{en-adj}} paradoxical (comparative more paradoxical, superlative most paradoxical)
  1. Having self-contradictory properties. Synonyms (having self-contradictory properties): oxymoronic, self-contradictory Derived forms: paradoxical embolism, paradoxical frog, paradoxical intention, paradoxical rage reaction, paradoxical sleep, paradoxical undressing Related terms: paradox, paradoxicality, paradoxically Translations (having self-contradicting properties): պարադոքսային (paradokʻsayin) (Armenian), paradoxal (Catalan), 自相矛盾的 (zìxiāngmáodùn de) (Chinese Mandarin), paradoxaal (Dutch), paradoksaalinen (Finnish), paradoxal [masculine] (French), paradoxal [feminine, masculine] (Galician), paradox (German), paradox (Hungarian), paradossale [masculine] (Italian), assurdo [masculine] (Italian), 逆説的な (gyakusetsuteki na) (alt: ぎゃくせつてきな) (Japanese), 逆説の (gyakusetsu no) (alt: ぎゃくせつの) (Japanese), әдеттен тыс (ädetten tys) (Kazakh), парадокстық (paradokstyq) (Kazakh), парадоксалды (paradoksaldy) (Kazakh), paradoksāls (Latvian), paradoksalny [masculine] (Polish), paradoxal (Portuguese), парадокса́льный (paradoksálʹnyj) (Russian), paradójico (Spanish), paradojal (Spanish), paradoxal (Swedish), paradoksal (Turkish), פּאַראַדאָקסיש (paradoksish) (Yiddish)

Alternative forms

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "having self-contradictory properties",
      "word": "self-consistent"
    },
    {
      "sense": "having self-contradictory properties",
      "word": "self-evident"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "paradox",
        "3": "ical"
      },
      "expansion": "paradox + -ical",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From paradox + -ical.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more paradoxical",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most paradoxical",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "paradoxical (comparative more paradoxical, superlative most paradoxical)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "pa‧ra‧dox‧ic‧al"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        },
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          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ical",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant script codes",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin links with redundant wikilinks",
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            "Links with redundant wikilinks",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        },
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          "name": "Terms with Armenian translations",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Galician translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
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        {
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          "name": "Terms with Kazakh translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Latvian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
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          "source": "w"
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Paradoxes",
          "orig": "en:Paradoxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "paradoxical embolism"
        },
        {
          "word": "paradoxical frog"
        },
        {
          "word": "paradoxical intention"
        },
        {
          "word": "paradoxical rage reaction"
        },
        {
          "word": "paradoxical sleep"
        },
        {
          "word": "paradoxical undressing"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, book II, ch 2:",
          "text": "It is the ambiguity of language only which can make this proposition appear either doubtful or paradoxical. When properly explained and understood, it is almost self-evident.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1898, H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, Book 2, ch 4:",
          "text": "It sounds paradoxical, but I am inclined to think that the weakness and insanity of the curate warned me, braced me, and kept me a sane man.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1921, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:",
          "text": "By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1933, H. P. Lovecraft, Hazel Heald, Out of the Aeons:",
          "text": "It was tightly fitted with a cap of the same substance, and bore engraved figurings of an evidently decorative and possibly symbolic nature - conventional designs which seemed to follow a peculiarly alien, paradoxical, and doubtfully describable system of geometry.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having self-contradictory properties."
      ],
      "id": "en-paradoxical-en-adj-4E~zwx4o",
      "links": [
        [
          "self-contradictory",
          "self-contradictory"
        ],
        [
          "properties",
          "property"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "paradox"
        },
        {
          "word": "paradoxicality"
        },
        {
          "word": "paradoxically"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "sense": "having self-contradictory properties",
          "word": "oxymoronic"
        },
        {
          "sense": "having self-contradictory properties",
          "word": "self-contradictory"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "roman": "paradokʻsayin",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "պարադոքսային"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradoxal"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "zìxiāngmáodùn de",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "自相矛盾的"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradoxaal"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradoksaalinen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "paradoxal"
        },
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "paradoxal"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradox"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradox"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "paradossale"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "assurdo"
        },
        {
          "alt": "ぎゃくせつてきな",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "gyakusetsuteki na",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "逆説的な"
        },
        {
          "alt": "ぎゃくせつの",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "gyakusetsu no",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "逆説の"
        },
        {
          "code": "kk",
          "lang": "Kazakh",
          "roman": "ädetten tys",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "әдеттен тыс"
        },
        {
          "code": "kk",
          "lang": "Kazakh",
          "roman": "paradokstyq",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "парадокстық"
        },
        {
          "code": "kk",
          "lang": "Kazakh",
          "roman": "paradoksaldy",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "парадоксалды"
        },
        {
          "code": "lv",
          "lang": "Latvian",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradoksāls"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "paradoksalny"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradoxal"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "paradoksálʹnyj",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "парадокса́льный"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradójico"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradojal"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradoxal"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "paradoksal"
        },
        {
          "code": "yi",
          "lang": "Yiddish",
          "roman": "paradoksish",
          "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
          "word": "פּאַראַדאָקסיש"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌpæɹəˈdɒksɪkəl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌpɛɹəˈdɑːksɪkəl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-paradoxical.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/76/En-us-paradoxical.ogg/En-us-paradoxical.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/En-us-paradoxical.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "paradoxical"
}
{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "having self-contradictory properties",
      "word": "self-consistent"
    },
    {
      "sense": "having self-contradictory properties",
      "word": "self-evident"
    }
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "paradoxical embolism"
    },
    {
      "word": "paradoxical frog"
    },
    {
      "word": "paradoxical intention"
    },
    {
      "word": "paradoxical rage reaction"
    },
    {
      "word": "paradoxical sleep"
    },
    {
      "word": "paradoxical undressing"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "paradox",
        "3": "ical"
      },
      "expansion": "paradox + -ical",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From paradox + -ical.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more paradoxical",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most paradoxical",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
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    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "paradoxical (comparative more paradoxical, superlative most paradoxical)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "pa‧ra‧dox‧ic‧al"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "paradox"
    },
    {
      "word": "paradoxicality"
    },
    {
      "word": "paradoxically"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English adjectives",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English terms suffixed with -ical",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
        "Mandarin links with redundant wikilinks",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "Terms with Armenian translations",
        "Terms with Catalan translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with Galician translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Kazakh translations",
        "Terms with Latvian translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations",
        "Terms with Turkish translations",
        "Terms with Yiddish translations",
        "en:Paradoxes"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, book II, ch 2:",
          "text": "It is the ambiguity of language only which can make this proposition appear either doubtful or paradoxical. When properly explained and understood, it is almost self-evident.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1898, H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, Book 2, ch 4:",
          "text": "It sounds paradoxical, but I am inclined to think that the weakness and insanity of the curate warned me, braced me, and kept me a sane man.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1921, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:",
          "text": "By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1933, H. P. Lovecraft, Hazel Heald, Out of the Aeons:",
          "text": "It was tightly fitted with a cap of the same substance, and bore engraved figurings of an evidently decorative and possibly symbolic nature - conventional designs which seemed to follow a peculiarly alien, paradoxical, and doubtfully describable system of geometry.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having self-contradictory properties."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "self-contradictory",
          "self-contradictory"
        ],
        [
          "properties",
          "property"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌpæɹəˈdɒksɪkəl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌpɛɹəˈdɑːksɪkəl/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
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      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/76/En-us-paradoxical.ogg/En-us-paradoxical.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/En-us-paradoxical.ogg"
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  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "having self-contradictory properties",
      "word": "oxymoronic"
    },
    {
      "sense": "having self-contradictory properties",
      "word": "self-contradictory"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "paradokʻsayin",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "պարադոքսային"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradoxal"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "zìxiāngmáodùn de",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "自相矛盾的"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradoxaal"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradoksaalinen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "paradoxal"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "paradoxal"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradox"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradox"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "paradossale"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "assurdo"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ぎゃくせつてきな",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "gyakusetsuteki na",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "逆説的な"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ぎゃくせつの",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "gyakusetsu no",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "逆説の"
    },
    {
      "code": "kk",
      "lang": "Kazakh",
      "roman": "ädetten tys",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "әдеттен тыс"
    },
    {
      "code": "kk",
      "lang": "Kazakh",
      "roman": "paradokstyq",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "парадокстық"
    },
    {
      "code": "kk",
      "lang": "Kazakh",
      "roman": "paradoksaldy",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "парадоксалды"
    },
    {
      "code": "lv",
      "lang": "Latvian",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradoksāls"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "paradoksalny"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradoxal"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "paradoksálʹnyj",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "парадокса́льный"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradójico"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradojal"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradoxal"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "paradoksal"
    },
    {
      "code": "yi",
      "lang": "Yiddish",
      "roman": "paradoksish",
      "sense": "having self-contradicting properties",
      "word": "פּאַראַדאָקסיש"
    }
  ],
  "word": "paradoxical"
}

Download raw JSONL data for paradoxical meaning in English (7.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.