contradiction in terms

A statement that seems to contradict itself, with one part of it denying another. For example, I've always believed that “a poor millionaire” was a contradiction in terms. [Late 1700s]

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

It made her seem like a contradiction in terms, a performing seal, rather than a complex human being.

From

Despite having been converted by a gangster, he regards the idea of religious criminals as a contradiction in terms.

From

This might seem a contradiction in terms, but the strategy appears clear from his words, including the highly personal attack on his successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa.

From

Constitutional law scholar John Hart Ely once scoffed that “ ‘substantive due process’ is a contradiction in terms — sort of like ‘green pastel redness.’

From

The very notion of a republican king was a repudiation of the spirit of’76 and a contradiction in terms.

From

contradiction contradictious

Browse