Synonyms for paradoxical
para·dox·i·cal

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:1.8 / 6 votes

1. paradoxicaladjective

   Synonyms:
   self-contradictory, oxymoronic

   Antonyms:
   self-consistent, self-evident

2. paradoxicaladjective

   Having self-contradictory properties.

   Synonyms:
   oxymoronic, self-contradictory

   Antonyms:
   self-consistent, self-evident

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.0 / 1 vote

1. paradoxical

   That is absurd which is contrary to the first principles of reasoning; as, that a part should be greater than the whole is absurd. A paradoxical statement appears at first thought contradictory or absurd, while it may be really true. Anything is irrational when clearly contrary to sound reason, foolish when contrary to practical good sense, silly when petty and contemptible in its folly, erroneous when containing error that vitiates the result, unreasonable when there seems a perverse bias or an intent to go wrong. Monstrous and preposterous refer to what is overwhelmingly absurd; as, "O monstrous! eleven buckram men grown out of two," Shakespeare 1 King Henry IV, act ii, sc. 4. The ridiculous or the nonsensical is worthy only to be laughed at. The lunatic's claim to be a king is ridiculous; the Mother Goose rimes are nonsensical. Compare INCONGRUOUS.

   Synonyms:
   absurd, anomalous, chimerical, erroneous, false, foolish, ill-advised, ill-considered, ill-judged, inconclusive, incorrect, infatuated, irrational, ludicrous, mistaken, monstrous, nonsensical, preposterous, ridiculous, senseless, stupid, unreasonable, wild

   Antonyms:
   certain, consistent, demonstrable, demonstrated, established, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, infallible, logical, rational, reasonable, sagacious, sensible, sound, substantial, true, undeniable, unquestionable, wise

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. paradoxical

   Synonyms:
   contradictory, absurd, enigmatical, mysterious

   Antonyms:
   self-evident, axiomatic, lucid, obvious

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:4.3 / 4 votes

1. paradoxical, self-contradictoryadjective

   seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true

   "it is paradoxical that standing is more tiring than walking"

   Synonyms:
   contradictory, at odds(p), conflicting, self-contradictory

   Antonyms:
   explicable

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. paradoxicaladjective

   Synonyms:
   absurd (to appearance, yet conformable to fact), incredible, puzzling, inconceivable

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "paradoxical":

   ironic, specious, contradictory, paradox, self-contradictory, paradoxes, bizarre, strange

Concise Medical Dictionary, by Joseph C Segen, MDRate these synonyms:4.5 / 2 votes

1. paradoxical

   Synonyms:
   Paradoxic Note: Both terms are in active use and the choice is commonly dictated by euphonics
   

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How to use paradoxical in a sentence?

1. T. S. Eliot:

   So far as we are human, what we do must be either evil or good so far as we do evil or good, we are human and it is better, in a paradoxical way, to do evil than to do nothing at least we exist.

2. Jorge Opaso:

   It seems a little paradoxical, but this is tied directly to the strong rise in the salmon price at the international level.

3. Arnold J. Toynbee:

   It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.

4. William Paul:

   I call it paradoxical, to put it gently, that the pope said that, when he lives behind walls that are about 40 feet high and 40 feet across, that comment hurt his credibility with my parishioners.

5. Bertrand Russell:

   The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.