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paradoxical, a.|pærəˈdɒksɪkəl|
[See -ical.]
1. Of a doctrine, proposition, etc.: Of the nature of a paradox, exhibiting or involving paradox.
a. Contrary to common opinion.
1581[implied in paradoxically]. 1598Florio, Paradossale, paradoxicall, contrarie to the common opinion. 1667Pepys Diary 10 Apr., Proposing many things paradoxical to our common opinions. 1825Coleridge Aids Refl. (1848) I. 6 Many things may be paradoxical, (that is, contrary to the common notion) and nevertheless true: nay, because they are true.
b. Apparently inconsistent with itself, or with reason, though in fact true; also, really inconsistent with reason, and so, absurd or irrational.
1638Junius Paint. Ancients 353 Of this point, which perchance may seem somewhat paradoxicall, we have studied elsewhere to give sufficient proofe. 1664Power Exp. Philos. i. 71, I have but one paradoxical and extravagant Quaere to make. 1678Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. i. §34. 43 This Philosophy of the Ancients, which seems to be so prodigiously paradoxical, in respect of that Pre-existence and Transmigration of Souls. 1748Anson's Voy. iii. v. 342 This, however paradoxical it may appear, is evident enough. 1825Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Stage Illusion, Comedians, paradoxical as it may seem, may be too natural. 1876Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxiii. 65 It would be true, though it might sound paradoxical, to say that the Norman Conquest made England Saxon.
2. Of persons, etc.: Fond of or given to paradox.
1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 41 Goropius after his wont paradoxicall, holdeth it to be the Hill Paropanisus, or Paropamisus, a part of the Hill Taurus. 1708Swift Abol. Chr. Wks. 1755 II. i. 82 This perhaps may appear too great a paradox even for our wise and paradoxical age to endure. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 529 There is..a paradoxical element in the Statesman which delights in reversing the accustomed use of words. 1881Sat. Rev. 23 July 101/1 Dean Stanley's paradoxical temper.
3. a. Of a phenomenon, circumstance, etc.: Exhibiting some contradiction with known laws or with itself; not in accordance with what is theoretically reasonable or possible; now said esp. of natural phenomena that deviate from the normal or are hard to reconcile with known scientific laws.
1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 107 Among those many paradoxicall and unheard of imitations. 1812–16Playfair Nat. Phil. (1819) I. 161 A phenomenon not a little paradoxical, and not yet sufficiently examined. 1845Darwin Voy. Nat. i. (1879) 11 A most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady parts of the wood. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 231 Zahn gave the name ‘paradoxical embolism’..to the transportation of emboli derived from veins into the systemic arteries without passing through the pulmonary circulation.
b. Applied to sleep that is characterized by increased physiological and mental activity (e.g. rapid eye-movements and dreaming in man) and normally alternates with longer periods of orthodox sleep.
[1959Jouvet & Michel in Compt. Rend. Soc. de Biol. CLIII. 422 Cette phase est suivie d'une ‘phase paradoxale’ dont l'activité est extrêmement caractéristique.] 1962I. Oswald Sleeping & Waking i. 16 (heading) ‘Paradoxical phase’ of sleep in the cat. 1969Sci. Jrnl. Dec. 78/3 The brainwaves of paradoxical sleep are more like those during normal wakefulness. 1970New Scientist 23 Apr. 170/2 After about an hour of this orthodox sleep phase..paradoxical sleep begins and lasts about 10 minutes before orthodox sleep is resumed. The electrical brain waves and many other bodily functions during paradoxical sleep are different—..most muscles become quite flaccid and their reflexes are lost; the penis is erect; the heart, breathing and blood pressure are irregular; [etc.]. 1974Times 4 Sept. 6/7 There was increasing evidence of a 90-minute rhythm in both sleep and waking activity. Paradoxical sleep (when dreaming) occurred every 90 minutes. 1977D. Morris Manwatching 315 So it is safe to assume that the total of 1½ hours of Pardoxical Sleep we have each night really does represent 1½ hours of actual dreaming. |