oxymorons

Noun

oxymoron (plural oxymorons or oxymora)

1. (rhetoric) A figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.
   • In Oxymoron jarring phrases join
     And terms opposed in harmony combine.1835, L[arret] Langley, “[Rhetorical Figures.] Oxymoron.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 35
2. (broadly, proscribed, sometimes) A contradiction in terms.
   • During the past few years, some 200 class-action suits have been filed against food manufacturers, charging them with misuse of the adjective in marketing such edible oxymorons as “natural” Cheetos Puffs, “all-natural” Sun Chips, “all-natural” Naked Juice, “100 percent all-natural” Tyson chicken...2015 April 28, Michael Pollan, “Why ‘Natural’ Doesn’t Mean Anything Anymore”, in The New York Times Magazine