oxymoron

1. 1.

   conjoining contradictory terms (as in `deafening silence')

   Broadertrope

Other forms of oxymoron

plural

oxymora

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about oxymoron

What does oxymoron mean?

oxymoron means "conjoining contradictory terms (as in `deafening silence')".

How many syllables are in oxymoron?

oxymoron has 4 syllables: ox-y-mo-ron. The stress falls on "y". In IPA it is /ˌɑkˈsiˈmɔɹɑn/.

Is oxymoron a common word?

oxymoron is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.