Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of paradox

9 similar words

Another word for paradox is quandary. Other synonyms of paradox are shocker, juxtaposition, contradiction, puzzle and riddle.

Synonyms and similar words for paradox

nounA counterintuitive conclusion or outcome.

nounA person or thing having contradictory properties.

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

  • puzzle
  • quandaryA state of not knowing what to decide; a state of difficulty or perplexity; a state of uncertainty, hesitation or...
  • riddle
  • enigma
  • koan

nounThe practice of giving instructions that are opposed to the therapist's actual intent, with the...

  • reverse psychologyThe advocacy of one course of action in such a way as to persuade someone to take an opposite course.

Meaning of paradox

  1. noun An apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa.
  2. noun A counterintuitive conclusion or outcome.
  3. noun A claim that two apparently contradictory ideas are true.

Full definition of paradox

paradox in other languages

Questions about synonyms of paradox

What is another word for paradox?
Paradox has 9 synonyms on Word.ws, such as quandary, shocker, juxtaposition, contradiction, puzzle, riddle, enigma and koan.
What does paradox mean?
Paradox means an apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: paradox (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of paradox.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/paradox. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.