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STYLISTICOXYMORONSINTHEENGLISHLANGUAGE
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Received:05/08/2024
Revised:17/02/2025
Accepted:26/02/2025
DOI:10.59266/houjs.2025.533
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oxymorons in the English language. Some previous researchers and linguists have
studied oxymorons from dierent aspects- with a comparison and contrastin native and
non-native languages about the functions, concepts, categorizations, semantic logical
foundations,andexpressivevalues.Thearticleusesqualitativeandquantitativeresearch
methods with techniques like description, linguistic and contextual analysis, induction,
deduction, comparison,etc.Semantic elds andoxymoron types weregroupedas partof
thedatastatisticsfromacollectionof570oxymorons,basedonthesourcesofnumerous
articles,websites,plays,poems,textbooks,novels,shortstories,colloquialisms,everyday
conversations,sayingsandquotesforoneyear.Thedatawasthencombinedandanalyzedto
determinethesemanticaspectsofliteralandgurativemeaningsforthestylisticvariationof
literary,artistic,philosophical,media,andeverydayexpressions.Thisarticlewillcontribute
toavastunderstandingoftheoxymoronsoftheEnglishlanguagefromthelinguisticand
social-culturaldimensionsforbothlecturersandstudentsattheFacultyofEnglish,Hanoi
OpenUniversity.
.HRVsyntacticfeature,semanticfeatures,stylistic,oxymoron,gureofspeech.
HanoiOpenUniversity
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A comprehensive understanding of
English wordusage and linguistic devices
is essential for eective communication.
Oxymorons play a vital role in meaning
formation as both gurative speech
techniques and reasoning tools. By
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yet logically, oxymorons enhance literary
expression and everyday communication,
encouraging deeper reection and
interpretation.Theirabilitytocreatemulti-
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to discourse. This study investigates the
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oxymorons.Previousresearchhasexamined
oxymorons from various perspectives,
including their conceptual, categorical,
and expressive values, though some have
focusedsolelyontheirfunctions.Thisstudy
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andanalysis.Specically,itseekstoanswer:
(1) What are oxymorons’ syntactic and
semanticfeatures?(2)Whatarethecommon
stylistic types of oxymorons? A dataset

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collected, categorized,andanalyzed based
on their stylistic properties. The ndings
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culturalperspectives.
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2.1.Denitionsonoxymoron
Anoxymoronappearswhenwords,
especially two words, are combined,
conveying contradictory meanings.
In essence, the two words are usually
antonyms, but they are not against each
other negatively. It is often realized that
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externally. Internally, the two words
generate a gure of speech, bringing a
whole new connotation. It is explained
in Greek that “oxys” denotes “keen” or
“sharp,”and“moros”indicates“dull”or
“foolish.”The whole word “oxymoros”
implies “pointedly foolish”. The
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary denes an
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each other.” According to the Merriam-
Webster Dictionary, the denition is
“an oxymoron is a combination of
contradictoryorincongruouswords.”The
CollinsDictionarygivesalittledierent
denition “An oxymoron is a gure of
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ideasortermsarecombined.”
2.2. Oxymoron as a stylistic
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In a similar study, Oxymoron is
a valid subset of the phrases known as
“contradiction in terms” (Fletcher &
Olwyler, 1997). The purposeful usage
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contradictions. The contradiction is
only visible because the combination of
phrasesoersanewwaytocommunicate
anotion.
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Englishstylisticoxymorons
Grothe (2009) asserts that
oxymoronscanoccuratthephraselevel
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dierentone.Inparticular,anoxymoron’s
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level. The range ofthe oxymoron inthe
studydoesnotcoverthestylisticaspects.
According to Lederer (2008), oxymoron
comes in various frames and can occur
at the word level. Two forms can be
achieved in this situation: a. A single-
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morphemes,suchassuperette(big-small),
ludicrous (before-after), and pianoforte
(soft-loud). b. A single-word oxymoron
is made up of separate morphemes.
Spendthrift, bittersweet, speechwriting,
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formasingleterm.Hedoesnotputthem
atsentencelevel.
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Englishstylisticoxymorons
Fortheroleofoxymorons,Pavlovich
(1979) believes that an oxymoron is a
gureofspeechmadeupoftwoelements
that stand in opposition to one another.
Heonlystudiestheuseofoxymoronsin
thecognitiveaspectsofacertainkindof
frames. Shestakova (1994) reveals that
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governs the understanding of attributive
oxymoron combinations, where one of
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combinedsemanticsofthecombinations,
restoring its logical balance.A semantic
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opposition.

2.5.Thepreviousresearch
Flayih (2009) examines how
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are intentionally combined for eect,
focusing on their ironic, humorous,
paradoxical, or emphatic functions.
However, his studyis limited tospecic
contextual uses. Ayupova et al. (2024)
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of oxymorons in English and Russian,
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oxymorons. Their research highlights
stylistic and cultural perspectives but
lacks a deep linguistic analysis.Nguyễn
Thế Truyền (2005) studies oxymorons
in terms of concepts, categorization,
semanticlogic,andexpressivevalue.He
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and user perspectives through dierent
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their stylistic function. Unlike previous
studies,thisarticlesystematicallyanalyzes
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through data collection, categorization,
and analysis. It contributes to a broader
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perspectives.
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3.1.ContextoftheStudy
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the need for a comprehensive reference
on gures of speech among lecturers
and students at the Faculty of English,
Hanoi Open University. It serves as a
resourceforcoursesinLexico-semantics,
Translation, Speaking, and Writing
skills.Additionally,lecturerscanusethis
researchtodevelopexercisesthatenhance
students’vocabularyacquisition.
3.2.Scope of the Studyand Data
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collectedfromvarioussources,including
articles,websites,plays,poems,textbooks,
novels, short stories, colloquialisms,
conversations, sayings, and quotes. The
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and semantic criteria such as humor,
description, sarcasm, paradox, emotion,
andchild-orientedexpressions.Overone
year,approximately570oxymoronswere
gathered using computational methods,
with exclusions for jargon, slang, and
taboo words. The collected oxymorons
span multiple discourse types, including
literary,artistic,philosophical,media,and
everydaycommunication.
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A mixed-method approach,
incorporating both qualitative and
quantitative techniques, was applied.
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examined based on settings, genres, and
corporal. Analytical methods such as
description, contextual and linguistic
analysis, induction, deduction, and
comparison were employed. Oxymorons
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elds, allowing for statistical analysis
of their frequency, adaptability, and
distinctivecharacteristics.Thestudyalso
examined syntactic patterns, focusing
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the phrase and sentence levels, and
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gurative meanings in dierent stylistic
contexts.
IV.Majorndingsanddiscussions
The following results provide
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use, indicating cultural and stylistic
preferences. The study claries how
oxymoronsserveasstylistictechniquesto
expresscontradiction,contrast,anddepth
ofmeaning,demonstratingtheadaptability
andinventivenessoflanguageusage.

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oxymorons
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oxymoronscanbeclassiedintophrases.
Based on Grothe (2009) with the
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level and sometimes sentence level in
the pragmatic aspects, Pavlovich (1979)
with the role of oxymorons in a variety
ofsyntacticframesjustforthecognitive
aspects, and Lederer (2008) with the
varioussyntacticframesoccurringatthe
word level, this study has expanded the
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stylisticusageofoxymoronsintheseven
popularandadaptablesyntacticstructures.
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a) Verb + adverb: He could stay
awayfromschool.Sheactsnaturally.
b) Adverb + adjective/ adverb;
Faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.
It is awfully good. She has a painfully
beautifulfeeling.Thedogisprettyerce.
The cake is disgustinglydelicious.They
are all alone together. His behavior is
seriouslyfunny.
c) verb + prepositional phrase; He
killsthecatwithkindness.
d)Adjective+Adjective;Theliving
deadissaidtorise.Thecatlooksdrowsy
andvivacious.Myleastfavoritecharacters
arereconsidered.Itisthelargerhalf.Itis
bittersweet.
e) Adjective + Noun: It is an
open secret.They need virtual reality to
practice.Thisistheoriginalcopyofher
handouts.Thatisanunpopularcelebrity.
Hedoesn’tneedtheexactestimate.This
is the impossible solution. I know her
noticeableabsence.
f)Adverb+Verb;Isilentlyscream
for help. He denitely may be here. He
clearlymisunderstood.
g)Nounnoun:Thiscallsforabsolute
honesty and cunning. It is a love-hate
relationship.Sheneedszerotolerance.It
istherelationshipoftheguesthost.Itisa
matteroflove-hate.
Via the above classication, it is
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andcoordination.Inmostcases,therst
component often acts as a modier and
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head. In some cases, the rst and the
secondcomponentsareofequalvalues.It
iscalledcoordination.Infact,therearenot
manycasesofcoordinationbeingused.
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oxymoronscanbeclassiedintosentences.
a)Thepredicateiscontrastedtothe
complement: He is found missing. The
cakeisgrowingsmaller.
b)Thesubjectisversusthepredicate:
Silence sings allaround me. My headis
bound with a band. His eyes were wide
shut.Thelessisthemore.
c) The predicate is opposed to the
object:Iwillgotothewaterandseehim
out of sight). We agreed to disagree on
certainthings.Pressthebraketostart.
d) The subject opposes the object:
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love.
e) The subject is opposed to the
complement:Thissilenceisdeafening.A
friendtoeverybodyisafriendtonobody.
An oxymoron is a distinctive
stylistic device that merges opposing
ideas to form a new, complex meaning
rather than simply combining antonyms.
Unlike antithesis, which highlights
contrast, oxymoron preserves a logical
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creatinganovelconcept.Italsoservesas
apsychologicalandculturalphenomenon,
momentarily disrupting conventional

thought patterns and evoking a striking
cognitiveeect.Byintroducingelements
of paradox, irony, and contradiction,
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enhanceexpressiveimpact.
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oxymorons
Each eld reects a nuance of
meaning. It can be a stronger orweaker
irony. There are dierent types of
oxymoronswithdierentkindsandlayers
of meanings. The following oxymorons
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featuresbasedonthecriteriaoffrequency,
style, adaptability, and semantic elds.
Throughthosegroupsofoxymorons,their
distinctive features of semantic aspects
canberevealed.
4.2.1.Comicaloxymorons
Most of the following comical
oxymorons convey humorous aspects.
Sometimes, they are called “opinion
oxymoron”. They reect an assumption
of joyfulness, evoking laughter or
amusement.Thecomicaloxymoronscan
be a means of education. They reect
the implicit assumption, providing some
moralteachingsorvalues.Amongthe95
comical oxymorons, the most noticeable
examples are: terribly pleased, literally
gurative,peaceforce,largerhalf,passive
aggression, liquid-solid, quiet scream,
harmonic dissonance, seriously casual,
incredibly real, uninvited guest, real
fantasy,virtualsubstance,activestandstill,
truelies,activelylazy,certainpossibility,
same opposite, purposeful accident, real
mirage,openlysecretive,etc…
Table4.2.1:Dierenteldsofcomicaloxymoronsforsemanticuse
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Figurative
ItcanbeseenfromTable4.2.1thatthe
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is nearly the same, but the adaptability
of the gurative meanings is bigger. In
dierentstyles,theliteraryandtheartistic
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of uses. The philosophical expressions
witnessthelowestnumber,with only six
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the gurative meaning. The media and
everydayexpressionsexperiencethesame
number of uses in literal and gurative
meanings. Notably, the literalmeaning in
useisthesameforthepressandeveryday
expressionswith11uses.
4.2.2.Descriptiveoxymorons
Descriptive oxymorons are mostly
used to create new, evocative meanings.
Unlike other oxymorons, they provide rich
details and specicallyvivid images of the
matters they are describing.They helpadd
layersofcomplexityandnuancestothetexts.
In dierent semantic elds, the descriptive
oxymorons enrich the mind and ear. They
helpreadersgetmoreaccesstothegurative
meanings.Descriptiveoxymoronsalsohelp
createalayerofdeepemotionalexpressions,
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ideas.Amongthe105descriptiveoxymorons,
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option,openlyhidden,plasticglasses,silent
scream, soft rock, constant variable, crash
landing, detailed summary, dry ice, exact
estimate, deep shallows, dull shine, empty
fullness,fastturtle,feeblestrength,fullvoid,
genuineimitation,hardpillow,heavyfeather,
high lows, innocent guilt, joyful sorrow,
known unknowns, light darkness, minor
crisis,etc,…