[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/paradox.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / paradox

[← P](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/P/)

# paradox

«paradox» in Mova's school dictionary: **A statement or idea that seems to contradict itself or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a paradox, paradoxes)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A statement or idea that seems to contradict itself or seems impossible, but may still be true. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/#m1)

2) A situation that has two opposite facts that both seem to be true. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/#m2)

3) (logic) A puzzle where reasoning leads to an impossible answer, such as "This sentence is false." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths, logic and philosophy, famous paradoxes like "This sentence is false" or the time-travel grandfather paradox make you think hard. In everyday life, "the paradox is..." points out something strange: "The more you rush, the slower you go." In olympiad puzzles, paradoxes test careful thinking.

### examples

- "This sentence is false" is a famous paradox. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/#x1)
- It's a paradox that the busiest people often have the most time to help. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/#x2)
- The time machine story had a strange paradox. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/#x3)
- "Less is more" sounds like a paradox. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/#x4)
- Zeno's paradox says a runner can never catch a tortoise, but in real life he does. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/#x5)
- It was a paradox: the more she tried to sleep, the more awake she felt. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/#x6)

### note

Countable: paradox, paradoxes. Adjective: paradoxical. A paradox is not just a contradiction; it is something that seems impossible yet makes you think. In maths, some paradoxes are solved with better ideas, such as infinite sums adding up to a finite number (1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + ... = 1).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «paradox» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/paradox/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.