paradoxical
pa·ra·dox·ic·al/ˌpɛɹəˈdɑːksɪkəl/adjective
paradoxical is spelled P-A-R-A-D-O-X-I-C-A-L: 11 letters and 5 syllables (pa·ra·dox·ic·al). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, paradoxical means “Having self-contradictory properties” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in paradoxical?
| Letters | 11: P-A-R-A-D-O-X-I-C-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: pa·ra·dox·ic·al |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is paradoxical?
Paradoxical appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce paradoxical?
- UK /ˌpæɹəˈdɒksɪkəl/
- US /ˌpɛɹəˈdɑːksɪkəl/
Paradoxical has 5 syllables, split pa·ra·dox·ic·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-paradoxical.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of paradoxical
- more paradoxical comparative
- most paradoxical superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does paradoxical mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having self-contradictory properties.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Paradoxical in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having self-contradicting properties:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | paradoxal |
| German | paradox |
| Portuguese | paradoxal |
| Spanish | paradójico, paradojal |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does paradoxical come from?
From paradox + -ical.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).