A figure of speech that combines contradictory or opposing terms to create a paradoxical expression. This device highlights complexity or creates emphasis through the tension between conflicting concepts.
From Greek 'oxymoros' meaning 'pointedly foolish,' combining 'oxys' (sharp, keen) and 'moros' (foolish). The term itself is an oxymoron, as it pairs 'sharp' with 'dull,' reflecting the device's inherent contradiction.
Oxymorons capture life's contradictions in just two words—'deafening silence,' 'organized chaos,' 'cruel kindness'! Shakespeare loved them because they mirror human complexity: Juliet's 'beautiful tyrant' and 'fiend angelical' show how love creates impossible, contradictory feelings that regular language can't express.
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