Oxymoron: A figure of speech or phrase pairing two contradictory words. The word is from the Greek oxus(sharp) and moros (dull).
Oxymorons are used in literature, in poetry, and in everyday life. They can be used to grab our attention, to add humor, or sometimes to clarify or expand meaning — or even to reveal a deeper truth. And there are many beyond the jumbo shrimp or old news we usually think of:
She is clearly confused.
That story is seriously funny.
These taste awfully good.
He thought she was pretty ugly until he got to know her,
There was a small crowd at the concert.
The original copy was encased in glass.
He heard only deafening silence.
Her sad smile broke my heart.
He is but a wise fool who rules us.
His passive-aggressive personality scared people away.
It is a definite maybe from me.
My guest left the house in a perfect mess.
This big diamond is a genuine fake.
My cruise will be a working vacation.
I am happiest when my office is in organized chaos.
These papers of my manuscript are in random order.
You clearly misunderstood me.
I refuse to eat with plastic silverware.
She seemed to be growing smaller and smaller with each mistake.
Our vacation was bitter sweet.
I could make only a silent scream, so great was my terror.
Her fierce kindness helped me face my fears.
You can’t go wrong taking a careful risk.
I approached our conversation with cautious optimism.
We always had a friendly rivalry — until we didn’t
She preferred natural makeup.
We can see living history at the new museum. (Hmmm…what about new museum???)
I love reading modern classics. Is Steam Punk futuristic nostalgia?
The benefit of this idea is clearly invisible.
That car hitting my house was a deliberate accident.
We are hoping for a peaceful rebellion on No King’s Day.
The intense calm I feel is making me nervous.
We are living through a quiet storm.
We all have definite uncertainty about our future.
The weather has been constantly variable.
A familiar stranger walked up to me, and I said nothing.
Her beautiful face was perfectly flawed.
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