different between oxymoron vs understatement
oxymoron
English
Etymology
First attested in the 17th century, noun use of 5th century Latin oxym?rum (adj), neut. nom. form of oxym?rus (adj), from Ancient Greek ???????? (oxúm?ros), compound of ???? (oxús, “sharp, keen, pointed”) (English oxy-, as in oxygen) + ????? (m?rós, “dull, stupid, foolish”) (English moron (“stupid person”)). Literally "sharp-dull", "keen-stupid", or "pointed-foolish" – itself an oxymoron, hence autological; compare sophomore (literally “wise fool”), influenced by similar analysis. The compound form ???????? (oxúm?ron) is not found in the extant Ancient Greek sources.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?ks??m????n/
- (US) enPR: äk-s?-môr?-än, äk-s?-môr?-än, IPA(key): /??ksi?m???n/, /?ks??m???n/
Noun
oxymoron (plural oxymorons or oxymora)
- (rhetoric) A figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.
- 1996, John Sinclair, "Culture and Trade: Some Theoretical and Practical Considerations", in Emile G. McAnany, Kenton T. Wilkinson (eds.), Mass Media and Free Trade: NAFTA and the Cultural Industries, University of Texas Press
- For Theodor Adorno and his colleagues at the Frankfurt School who coined the term, "culture industry" was an oxymoron, intended to set up a critical contrast between the exploitative, repetitive mode of industrial mass production under capitalism and the associations of transformative power and aesthetico-moral transcendence that the concept of culture carried in the 1940s, when it still meant "high" culture.
- 1996, John Sinclair, "Culture and Trade: Some Theoretical and Practical Considerations", in Emile G. McAnany, Kenton T. Wilkinson (eds.), Mass Media and Free Trade: NAFTA and the Cultural Industries, University of Texas Press
- (loosely, sometimes proscribed) A contradiction in terms.
Usage notes
- Historically, an oxymoron was "a paradox with a point", or "pointedly foolish: a witty saying, the more pointed from being paradoxical or seemingly absurd" at first glance. Its deliberate purpose was to underscore a point or to draw attention to a concealed point. The common vernacular use of oxymoron as simply a contradiction in terms is considered incorrect by some speakers and writers, and is perhaps best avoided in certain contexts.
Antonyms
- pleonasm, redundancy
Derived terms
- oxymoronic
- oxymoronically
- oxymoronicity
- oxymoronicness
Related terms
Translations
See also
- Category:English oxymorons
- contranym
References
Further reading
- Oxymoron on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Lee’s Complete Oxymoron List, with discussion of classification (archive)
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understatement
English
Etymology
under- +? statement
Noun
understatement (usually uncountable, plural understatements)
- (uncountable, rhetoric) A figure of speech whereby something is made to seem smaller or less important than it actually is, either through phrasing or lack of emphasis, often for ironic effect.
- Synonym: meiosis
- Antonym: hyperbole
- Hyponym: litotes
- (countable) An instance of such phrasing or lack of emphasis.
- Hyponym: laconism
- An incomplete disclosure that intentionally withholds relevant information.
Related terms
- understate
Translations
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English understatement.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??n.d?(r)?ste?t.m?nt/ (the realisation may approximate English pronunciation: /?r/ will often be realised as [?] or [?])
- Hyphenation: un?der?state?ment
Noun
understatement n (plural understatements)
- understatement
Synonyms
- parabool
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from English understatement.
Noun
understatement m (invariable)
- understatement
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