ox·y·mo·ron / ˌäksəˈmôrˌän/ • n. a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g., faith unfaithful kept him falsely true).DERIVATIVES: ox·y·mo·ron·ic / -məˈränik/ adj.

OXYMORON. [From Greek oxúmōros sharp and dull. Stress: ‘awk-si-Mo-ron’]. A term in RHETORIC for bringing opposites together in a compact paradoxical word or phrase: bitter-sweet; a cheerful pessimist. The term is often used for social comment, humorously or cynically (such as in reference to military intelligence, conceived as a contradiction in terms) and dramatically, as in ‘It has become an oxymoron to speak of the Lebanese nation’ ( Jim Hoagland, The Washington Post, Apr. 1989).

oxymoron a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (e.g. faith unfaithful kept him falsely true). Recorded from the mid 17th century, the word comes from Greek oxumōron, neuter (used as a noun) of oxumōros ‘pointedly foolish’, from oxus ‘sharp’ + mōros ‘foolish’.

oxymoron (rhet.) figure in which contradictory terms are conjoined. XVII. — Gr. oxúmōron, n. sg. of oxúmoros pointedly foolish, f. oxús sharp + mōrós foolish.