Understanding oxymorons

What is an oxymoron?

An oxymoron is a literary device. The definition of an oxymoron is a pair or group of words with opposite or contradicting meanings. The word “oxymoron” has Greek origins. “Oxus” means “sharp” in ancient Greek, while “mōros”¹ Oxymorons can be used to create a dramatic effect or to produce irony. Writers also sometimes use oxymorons to add humor to their stories.

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Examples of oxymorons

You’ve probably heard or read oxymorons before without realizing it. Here are some popular words or phrases that are oxymorons:

• Bittersweet

This word is an oxymoron because “bitter” describes something with a sharp flavor, and “sweet” describes something with a pleasant or sugary taste.

• Freezer burn

Typically, hot things cause burns, not ice-cold surfaces, making “freezer burn” an oxymoron.

• Jumbo shrimp

Shrimp are known to be small crustaceans, making the term “jumbo shrimp” an oxymoron.

• Sad smile

Smiles are associated with happiness. If someone is described as having a sad smile, it’s an oxymoron.

• Alone together

If you’re alone, no one is around you. To say you’re alone with another person is an oxymoron.

• Deafening silence

Sometimes, people use this metaphor to describe a noticeable, uncomfortable silence. It’s an oxymoron because something is deafening if it’s too loud, while silence means there’s no noise.

• Crash landing

The phrase “crash landing” is an oxymoron since a crash refers to a slam or a collision. A landing is when something (like a plane) touches the ground successfully. This contradiction makes “crash landing” an oxymoron.

Examples of oxymorons in literature

You can find hundreds of examples of oxymorons in literature. Shakespeare was known to use oxymorons in his plays. In a scene in Act One of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo says:

“O heavy lightness, serious vanity,

Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms!

Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,

Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!

This love feel I, that feel no love in this.”

This speech is loaded with oxymorons, like “heavy lightness,” “serious vanity,” “feather of lead,” “bright smoke,” “cold fire,” “sick health,” and “still-waking sleep.”

Shakespeare included another oxymoron in Act Two of Romeo and Juliet:

“Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow,

That I shall say good night till it be morrow.”²

In this line, Juliet uses an oxymoron when she says “sweet sorrow.”

In Ernest Hemingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, he wrote about an interaction between an American soldier and his lover:

“She held herself tight to him and her lips looked for his and then found them and were against them and he felt her, fresh, new and smooth and young and lovely with the warm, scalding coolness and unbelievable to be there in the robe that was as familiar as his clothes, or his shoes, or his duty and then she said, frightenedly, ‘And now let us do quickly what it is we do so that the other is all gone.'”

Can you find the oxymoron in Hemingway’s writing? If you guessed “scalding coolness,” you were correct.

Some book titles use oxymorons. For example:

• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
• The Living Dead by George A. Romero
• Falling Upwards by Richard Holmes
• Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
• Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

Oxymoron vs. paradox: What’s the difference?

Paradoxes and oxymorons are often confused with each other. However, these two literary devices aren’t the same. A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself. For example, the statement “less is more” is a paradox. An oxymoron is different because it puts two words next to each other that contradict each other. While they’re both similar concepts, you can’t use the terms “paradox” and “oxymoron” interchangeably.

Now that you understand oxymorons, you can identify them and use them in your writing. Next, explore other common literary devices like hyperbole and alliteration.

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