as in paradox
someone or something with qualities or features that seem to conflict with one another
her outfit is a sartorial dichotomy: an elegant gown and ratty old tennis shoes
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Recent Examples of dichotomy
That’s a tough dichotomy to bridge, but the new 2025 911 Carrera GTS achieves it brilliantly.
—
Mark Phelan, Freep.com, 4 Sep. 2025
That’s a rich dichotomy, and whenever the narrative voice drills into the specificity of Ruth’s anxious imagination, the reader is rewarded.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
That dichotomy would sound overly simplistic to Ruth’s ears.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025
Wolf had no interest in being a character in his own film, but the subject-director dichotomy that was playing out on camera would become key to understanding Reubens’ complexities.
—Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dichotomy
Mark Phelan, Freep.com, 4 Sep. 2025
That’s a rich dichotomy, and whenever the narrative voice drills into the specificity of Ruth’s anxious imagination, the reader is rewarded.
—Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
That dichotomy would sound overly simplistic to Ruth’s ears.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025
Wolf had no interest in being a character in his own film, but the subject-director dichotomy that was playing out on camera would become key to understanding Reubens’ complexities.
—Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 8 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dichotomy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dichotomy
paradox
Noun
-
Activate your default mode network through strategic downtime, leverage neuroplasticity with daily visualization, and escape the stress-success paradox by choosing flow over force.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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Especially because the paradoxes only get stronger from Scorpio to Pisces.—
Colin Bedell,
Them.,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dichotomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dichotomy. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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