An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two words which by their very definition appear to directly contradict each other are used together. Often a seemingly contradictory adjective is used to emphasize the noun, as in "deafening silence". "Clearly confused" is an oxymoron because "confused" means to be befuddled or unclear about something, and "clear" is directly the opposite of that.
Larger half, clearly confused, pretty ugly, horrifically amazing
he appeared to be clearly confused after reading the instructions.
George Carlin referred to "military intelligence" as an oxymoron in one of his comedy performances.
The antonym of an oxymoron is a tautology. For example: "almost exactly" is an oxymoron. "Tiny little" is a tautology.
A living death
When two opposite words are used in one phrase. An example of an oxymoron is "clearly confused"
Larger half, clearly confused, pretty ugly, horrifically amazing
he appeared to be clearly confused after reading the instructions.
George Carlin referred to "military intelligence" as an oxymoron in one of his comedy performances.
The antonym of an oxymoron is a tautology. For example: "almost exactly" is an oxymoron. "Tiny little" is a tautology.
A living death
The French Resistance
The term 'jumbo shrimp' is an example of an oxymoron. The term 'military intelligence' is not a true oxymoron, but it seems that way sometimes. He was not the first veterinarian to discover that a 'small elephant' was an oxymoron.
oxymoron
An 'austere clown' is an example of an oxymoron.
You must make haste slowly
An example of an oxymoron in The Cay by Theodore Taylor is "deafening silence." This phrase combines two contradictory words, as silence is typically associated with quietness, not loudness.