P is for Paradox: What is the Difference Between a Paradox and an Oxymoron?

For those of you following along, you probably guessed that today I would write about paradox for the A-Z Blogging Challenge. A discussion of paradox naturally follows a post about oxymoron, which can be found here: O is for Oxymoron.

So, what is a paradox? What is the difference between a paradox and an oxymoron?

A paradox and an oxymoron are similar. A paradox is a statement or event that seems to contradict itself although it is, or can be, true. A paradoxical statement defies intuition.

Although there are no fast rules that distinguish between the two (several sources I referenced for this post consider the words paradox and oxymoron synonyms), there are discernible differences.

A paradox is a statement or even a paragraph that describes a contradiction whereas an oxymoron is a combination of contradictory terms, usually just two words (go here for a list of oxymoron examples).

One of my favorite literary examples of a paradox is from George Orwell’s Animal Farm: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

Sources: Literary terms and definitions, DifferenceBetween.net, CliffNotes.com