100 Awfully Good Examples of Oxymorons

100 Awfully Good Examples of Oxymorons An oxymoronâ is a metaphor, normally a couple of words in whichâ seeminglyâ contradictory terms seem next to each other. This logical inconsistency is otherwise called aâ paradox. Scholars and writers have utilized it for a considerable length of time as an artistic gadget to portray lifes inborn clashes and ambiguities. In discourse, paradoxical expressions can loan a comical inclination, incongruity, or mockery. Utilizing Oxymorons The word paradoxical expression is itself oxymoronic, or, in other words opposing. The word is gotten from two old Greek words oxys, which implies sharp, and moronos, which means dull or dumb. Take this sentence, for instance: This was a minor emergency and the main decision was to drop the product offering. There are two paradoxical expressions in this sentence: minor emergency and just decision. In the event that youre learning English as a subsequent language, you may be confounded by these hyperboles. Peruse truly, they repudiate themselves. A emergency is characterized as a period of genuine trouble or significance. By that measure, no emergency is insignificant or minor. Additionally, decision suggests more than one alternative, which is negated by just, which infers the inverse. In any case, when you become conversant in English, its simple to perceive such interesting expressions for the hyperboles that they are. As the course reading writer Richard Watson Todd stated, The genuine excellence of ironic expressions is that, except if we kick back and truly think, we joyfully acknowledge them as normal English. Interesting expressions have been utilized since the times of the old Greek artists, and William Shakespeare sprinkled them all through his plays, sonnets, and pieces. Confusing expressions likewise include in present day parody and legislative issues. The moderate political author William Buckley, for example, got renowned for cites like a keen liberal is an interesting expression. 100 Examples of Oxymorons Like different sorts of non-literal language, ironic expressions (or oxymora) are frequently found in writing. As appeared by this rundown of 100 outrageously genuine models, confusing expressions are additionally part of our regular discourse. Youll discover basic metaphors, in addition to references to works of exemplary and mainstream society. missing nearness (from Astrophil and Stella by Sir Philip Sidney)alone togetherawful goodbeggarly wealth (from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions by John Donne)bittersweetbrisk opportunity (from Self Portrait in a Convex Mirror by John Ashbery)cheerful pessimistcivil warclearly misunderstoodcomfortable wretchedness (from One Door Away From Heaven by Dean Koontz)conspicuous absencecool passioncrash landingcruel kindnessdarkness obvious (from Paradise Lost by John Milton)deafening silencedeceptively honestdefinite maybedeliberate speeddevout atheistdull roareloquent silenceeven oddsexact estimateextinct lifefalsely evident (from Lancelot and Elaine by Lord Tennyson)festive tranquilityfound missingfreezer burnfriendly takeovergenuine imitationgood griefgrowing smallerguest hosthistorical presenthumane slaughtericy hotidiot savantill healthimpossible solutionintense apathyjoyful sadnessjumbo shrimplarger halflascivious beauty (from Sonnet 40 by William Shakespeare)lead balloonliquid marbl e (from Poetaster by Ben Jonson) living deadliving endliving sacrificesloosely sealedloud whisperloyal oppositionmagic realismmelancholy cheerfulness (from Don Juan by Lord Byron)militant pacifistminor miraclenegative growthnegative incomeold newsone-man bandonly choiceopenly deceptiveopen secretoriginal copyoverbearingly modestpaper tableclothpaper towelpeaceful conquestplastic glassesplastic silverwarepoor healthpretty uglyproperly ridiculousrandom orderrecorded liveresident aliensad smilesame differencescalding coolness (from For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway)seriously funnyshrewd dumbnesssilent screamsmall crowdsoft rockThe Sound of Silence (tune by Paul Simon)static flowsteel woolstudent teachersweet distress (from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)terribly goodtheoretical experiencetransparent night (from When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d by Walt Whitman)true fictionTrue Lies (film coordinated by James Cameron)unbiased opinionunconscious awarenessupward fallwise foolworking excur sion 1:15 5 Common Figures of Speech Explained