The difference between Contradiction and Paradox

When used as nouns, contradiction means the act of contradicting, whereas paradox means an apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa.

check bellow for the other definitions of Contradiction and Paradox

  1. Contradiction as a noun (countable, uncountable):

    The act of contradicting.

    Examples:

    "His contradiction of the proposal was very interesting."

  2. Contradiction as a noun (countable):

    A statement that contradicts itself, i.e., a statement that makes a claim that the same thing is true and that it is false at the same time and in the same senses of the terms.

    Examples:

    "There is a contradiction in Clarence Page's statement that a woman should have the right to choose and decide for herself whether to have an abortion, and at the same time she should not have that right."

    "There is a contradiction in what you say: she can't be both married and single."

  3. Contradiction as a noun (countable):

    A logical inconsistency among two or more elements or propositions.

    Examples:

    "Marx believed that the contradictions of capitalism would lead to socialism."

  4. Contradiction as a noun (logic, countable):

    A proposition that is false for all values of its variables.

  1. Paradox as a noun:

    An apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa.

    Examples:

    "This sentence is false" is a paradox."

  2. Paradox as a noun:

    A counterintuitive conclusion or outcome.

    Examples:

    "It is an interesting paradox that drinking a lot of water can often make you feel thirsty."

  3. Paradox as a noun:

    A claim that two apparently contradictory ideas are true.

    Examples:

    "Not having a fashion is a fashion; that's a paradox."

  4. Paradox as a noun:

    A thing involving contradictory yet interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time.

  5. Paradox as a noun:

    A person or thing having contradictory properties.

    Examples:

    "He is a paradox; you would not expect him in that political party."

  6. Paradox as a noun:

    An unanswerable question or difficult puzzle, particularly one which leads to a deeper truth.

  7. Paradox as a noun (obsolete):

    A statement which is difficult to believe, or which goes against general belief.

  8. Paradox as a noun (uncountable):

    The use of counterintuitive or contradictory statements (paradoxes) in speech or writing.

  9. Paradox as a noun (uncountable, philosophy):

    A state in which one is logically compelled to contradict oneself.

  10. Paradox as a noun (uncountable, psychotherapy):

    The practice of giving instructions that are opposed to the therapist's actual intent, with the intention that the client will disobey or be unable to obey.

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