different between mysterious vs paradoxical

English

Etymology

From Middle French mystérieux.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -??ri?s
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /m??st???i.?s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /m??st??i.?s/

Adjective

mysterious (comparative more mysterious, superlative most mysterious)

1. Of unknown origin.

   Synonym: untraceable

2. Having unknown qualities.

   Synonyms: esoteric, uncertain, undefined; see also Thesaurus:mysterious

   Hyponyms: anonymous, faceless, unexplored, unnamed, long-mysterious
3. Difficult to understand.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:incomprehensible

4. Deliberately evasive or enigmatic.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:covert

Derived terms

• mysteriously
• mysteriousness

Related terms

• mystery

Translations

English

Etymology

paradox +? -ical

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?pæ???d?ks?k?l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p????d??ks?k?l/
• Hyphenation: pa?ra?dox?ic?al

Adjective

paradoxical (comparative more paradoxical, superlative most paradoxical)

1. Having self-contradictory properties.
   • 1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, book II, ch 2

     It is the ambiguity of language only which can make this proposition appear either doubtful or paradoxical. When properly explained and understood, it is almost self-evident.

   • 1898, H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, Book 2, ch 4

     It sounds paradoxical, but I am inclined to think that the weakness and insanity of the curate warned me, braced me, and kept me a sane man.

   • 1933, H. P. Lovecraft & Hazel Heald, Out of the Aeons

     It was tightly fitted with a cap of the same substance, and bore engraved figurings of an evidently decorative and possibly symbolic nature - conventional designs which seemed to follow a peculiarly alien, paradoxical, and doubtfully describable system of geometry.

Synonyms

• (having self-contradictory properties): oxymoronic, self-contradictory

Antonyms

• (having self-contradictory properties): self-consistent, self-evident

Related terms

• paradox
• paradoxicality
• paradoxically

Translations