Contradictio in terminis
 |
Look up contradictio in terminis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Contradictio in terminis (Latin for contradiction in terms) refers to a combination of words whose meanings are in conflict with one another. Examples are "liquid ice", "independent colony", and "square circle".
If the contradiction is intentional (rhetorical or poetic), then one can speak of an oxymoron.
See also
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 15, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.