What is an Oxymoron?

What comes to your mind when such a question is shot at you? Can you comfortably answer it? An oxymoron is quite a common literary device you’ll come across in literary works. The word oxymoron is derived from the Greek words oksús (which means sharp, keen, or pointed) and mŌros (which means dull, stupid, or foolish). The two words together mean “sharp-dull”, “keenly stupid”, or “pointedly foolish”. What is an oxymoron then?

The definition of an oxymoron

An oxymoron is a literary device or a figure of speech that pairs two words with opposing or contradictory meanings together.

Interestingly, going with the meaning from the origin of the word oxymoron, the word oxymoron itself is an example of an oxymoron (the word oxymoron is an autological word; a word that possesses the property it describes).

Examples of oxymorons

There are a lot of examples of oxymorons. Some of the words we use daily are oxymorons, but because of how constantly and regularly we use them, we fail to notice that they are oxymorons. The examples include:

Only alternative

Only option

Only choice

Student-teacher

Clearly confused

Wise fool

Terribly good

Close distance

Virtual reality

Only choice

Living history

Calculated risk

Almost exactly

Advanced beginner

Act naturally

Constant variable

Climb down

Dark light

Blacklight

Deliberate mistake

Devout agnostic

Found missing

Friendly fire

Final draft

Going nowhere

Guest host

Loosely sealed

Old news

Original copy

Open secret

Random order

Same difference

Serious fun

Small crowd

Examples of the use of oxymorons in sentences:

The president and the prime minister of that country have a love-hate relationship.

The cupcakes from the bakery across the street are terribly good.

One of the requirements for participating in our school tournament is an original copy of your birth certificate.

The uses of an oxymoron

Used for titles

Oxymorons can make very catchy and interesting titles for books movies and even business brands. Examples of titles with an oxymoron are:

“True Lies” (an American film)

“Pretty Ugly” (Kirker Butler’s book)

“Big Little Lies” (Liane Moriarty’s book)

“Waking Dream” (an American documentary film)

“Quotes from a Devout Atheist” (A compilation book of Richard Dawkins' quotes)

Used to create humor or for a humorous effect

You can use the contradictory effect of an oxymoron to create humor in your work. This can apply to your title, scenes characters, and even ideas. For example for a character, you can pick two contradicting traits and bestow them to one character. Such traits may include an old teenager(an old man who fancies teenage behaviors), a righteous thug, a rogue bishop, and many more examples you can think of.

Used for a dramatic effect in a story

An oxymoron can be used to bring about a dramatic effect in a story. For instance, the writer may describe a woman in the story as “painfully beautiful”. This prompts a dramatic image in the reader's mind.

Used to add flavor to speech

You can use an oxymoron to spice up your speech (this also includes the conversations of your characters). For instance, instead of saying:

“The rapper got into trouble with the airport authorities.”

You can say:

“The rapper got into good trouble with the airport authorities.”