An oxymoron is a figure of speech, usually one or two words, in which seemingly contradictory terms appear side by side. This contradiction is also known as a paradox. Writers and poets have used it for centuries as a literary device to describe life’s inherent conflicts and incongruities. In speech, oxymorons can lend a sense of humor, irony, or sarcasm.
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,” (Todd 2007).
There are two oxymorons in this sentence: “minor crisis” and “only choice.” If you’re learning English as a second language, you might be confused by these figures of speech. Read literally, they contradict themselves. A crisis is defined as a time of serious difficulty or importance. By that measure, no crisis is unimportant or minor. Similarly, “choice” implies more than one option, which is contradicted by “only,” which implies the opposite.
Oxymorons have been used since the days of the ancient Greek poets. William Shakespeare was known to sprinkle them throughout his plays, poems, and sonnets. Oxymorons also feature in modern comedy and politics. The conservative political writer William Buckley, for instance, became famous for quotes like, “An intelligent liberal is an oxymoron.”