How to Use paradoxical in a Sentence

paradoxical

adjective
  • The idea that a black hole can be bright seems paradoxical at first.
    — Corey S Powell, Discover Magazine, 24 Oct. 2013
  • But of course, that’s not paradoxical at all, just not what we’re used to.
    — Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023
  • Her decision to do so, at such a late stage of her life, was paradoxical.
    — Bonnie Anderson, Smithsonian, 27 Apr. 2017
  • Then again, part of their appeal is that cord necklaces are a bit paradoxical.
    — Samantha Solomon, Vogue, 18 June 2025
  • That might sound paradoxical, but such shapes might do better than a circle.
    — Quanta Magazine, 28 June 2024
  • Those are not quite paradoxical demands, but close.
    — Justin Davidson, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Even his vertical leap seemed paradoxical in view of his girth.
    — Joey Knight, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2025
  • The state of being that guy, at the least the public version of him, is a paradoxical one.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2023
  • This paradoxical result has to do with the fact that rising rates do more than depress bond prices.
    — William Baldwin, Forbes, 16 June 2022
  • The line sums up the absurd, paradoxical world of witchcraft.
    — Thomas Page, CNN, 29 May 2017
  • That might sound paradoxical, but steak at a discount costs a lot more than hamburger meat.
    — Camila Domonoske, NPR, 6 May 2024
  • The year grinding to a close was a paradoxical one for cinema.
    — Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 15 Dec. 2017
  • That seems paradoxical when each year brings a new crop of exciting findings.
    — F.d. Flam, Twin Cities, 2 Jan. 2024
  • Ex-slaves relished seeing these paradoxical uses of the old slave pens.
    — Jonathan W. White, Smithsonian, 27 Feb. 2018
  • This had the paradoxical effect of drawing us closer to him.
    — Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Sep. 2025
  • Postecoglou, on the other hand, seems stuck in a paradoxical balancing act.
    — Elias Burke, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
  • Since the Arab spring, there has seen a resurgence, though, which shows the paradoxical effects of progress.
    — National Geographic, 31 Jan. 2016
  • Johnson had also felt a paradoxical time crunch.
    — Shayla Love, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
  • In a paradoxical way, having the world taken from him delivers it to him.
    — Sarah Thankam Mathews, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024
  • In the past scientists have found that closed timelike curves can’t be used for paradoxical time travel.
    — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 12 June 2026
  • The paradoxical truth of the matter is that cities can also serve as vital habitat for some parrot species.
    — Ryan F. Mandelbaum, Scientific American, 13 June 2023
  • Hoadley took on the task of putting all the pieces of the puzzle together to explain this paradoxical object.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 18 Nov. 2020
  • But Winter’s not the only one whose actions this week felt paradoxical.
    — Laura Bradley, vanityfair.com, 25 Oct. 2017
  • For now the answer taking shape is cautious, and a little paradoxical.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
  • Where Mr Bregman grates is in his claim to be the first to wrestle with deep, paradoxical truths about mankind.
    — The Economist, 6 June 2020
  • That’s one of the paradoxical elements of Black women in food.
    — Korsha Wilson, Saveur, 3 Jan. 2024
  • There is nothing paradoxical about people on the upper tier of the working class playing a leading role in the left.
    — John B. Judis, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2020
  • The letter had had the paradoxical effect of distracting from the plight of Gazans.
    — Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2023
  • That’s not paradoxical; the greater amount of white matter doesn’t mean habitual liars are more inclined to stick to rules and morals.
    — Paul Tullis, Town & Country, 30 Apr. 2023
  • The video portrays the paradoxical feeling of the mind running at high speed amid the solitude of stay-at-home pandemic life.
    — Izzy Colón, SPIN, 2 Mar. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paradoxical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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