: a paradox to be meditated upon that is used to train Zen Buddhist monks to abandon ultimate dependence on reason and to force them into gaining sudden intuitive enlightenment
Examples of koan in a Sentence
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But Ackman’s koan is also correct in a more absurdist way.
—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 June 2026
The correct response cannot be grasped, only meditated upon in the way of a koan used to train Zen Buddhist monks and force them into enlightenment.
—
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
What was clear is that Uniqlo conceives of itself as a distribution system for utopian values, replete with mantras and koans, as much as a clothing company.
—
Lauren Collins,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Lucas was asked about Yoda’s particular patter, which often found the character doing away with typical sentence structure and essentially delivering his heady insights and mighty koans backwards.
—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for koan
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Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 June 2026
The correct response cannot be grasped, only meditated upon in the way of a koan used to train Zen Buddhist monks and force them into enlightenment.
—
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
What was clear is that Uniqlo conceives of itself as a distribution system for utopian values, replete with mantras and koans, as much as a clothing company.
—
Lauren Collins,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Lucas was asked about Yoda’s particular patter, which often found the character doing away with typical sentence structure and essentially delivering his heady insights and mighty koans backwards.
—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for koan
Cite this Entry
“Koan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/koan. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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