Adam
Alex
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What is an oxymoron? Definition and 20 fun examples!
Do you know what anoxymoron is? This video starts with a quick definition of oxymorons. They’re a funny part of the English language! Oxymorons are figures of speech that have two contradicting terms. Using oxymorons correctly will make your English speaking and writing more descriptive. They’re fun to learn and are a great boost for your vocabulary, too. In this lesson, I’ll share 20 oxymorons that are common in everyday English, I’ll explain them, and I’ll give you examples of how they are used. So don’t be scared! Oxymorons are fun and easy! Take the quiz to make sure you know these phrases correctly, then start using them in your own conversations!
Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.Levels
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112 COMMENTS
As always, thanks for clicking! You guys are the best!
You are the best . Thanks
You’re right Alex, but let me put it to you this way:
We’re the cream of the crop!
Engaging lesson Alex!
Oxymoron? Never had I heard such a word before!
Just one question on the lesson Alex, what is it meant exactly by . . . a figure of speech?
Oh Gosh! Not that easy for me to grasp the meaning of these combinations, I felt like if I were busy doing nothing.
Thanks in advance for your feedback Alex.
Happily married!
P.S. By the way, is this an oxymoronic combination of words (LOL)?
You are the best too, Alex!
It was funny?
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for teaching!
Does “On and Off” fall in the oxymoronic category?
No. It makes sense because you’re saying “and” between them. You can say that a relationship is “on and off,” which means it’s good sometimes and bad at other times.
Thanks Alex, I’d never thought that “and” meant “between” I’d always thought that “and” means “also, with, plus, etc. ” but I learn everyday…
And I thought of “on and off” as “on and off overlapped/overlapping/at the same time” but don’t take me wrong I knew the meaning. Just wanted to clear things out.
your pronunciation is very good ,tks for teaching us the oxymorons words
No problem! Thanks for studying with EngVid!
I love to learned English everyday.
Hi Alex sir. Thank you for this wonderful video. Now I am able to improve our vocabulary. I am also following you on Facebook. Hope I see you in Instagram also. Once again thank you
Sorry Alex sir I did a small mistake in my comment “now i am able to improve our vocabulary” so instead of my I wrote our.
Sorry for this mistake sir.
Really is interesting lesson. keep it up
It is immensely fruitful and easy to use. I want to ask NEVER EVER is also a oxymoron?
Thanks
Thank you, Alex, for another great lesson! You really are a master at making something as complicated as oxymorons seem so easy and fun to learn.
Thanks for the kind feedback!
Thank you very much Alex!!
Nice and interesting video as usual. It’s a pleasure to follow your lessons ;)
The lesson is useful. Thanks Alex, but I hope you will make another lesson on when to use these expressions.
Thank you!interesring video(100
You got 10 correct out of 10.
:D)
thank u very much
I made %90 :D thanks for all things
Thanks Alex for this lesson, is great..
Thanks a lot!
I have got 9 out of 10 not bad isn’t?
Not bad at all! Keep it up!
Thank u
Thank you ,for your effort
Thank you very much, Alex! It was nice to see you again. Very interesting video lesson. I liked it a lot. By the way, I got 100. Goodbye!
yesss I got 10|10 thanks :)
Hi Alex, thanks for teaching us about oxymorons.
Pas besoin d’être original : You are the best . Thanks.
am I just going to hear those words in navive english peope?, How often am i goint to hear them?. I know it´s good to meet new words but I´m not sure weather use them
You can use them, as they are very common fixed phrases. You’ll hear them in movies, on television, and everywhere else. They’re just funny when you stop to think about them. :)
Thank you Alex for nice lesson as always. I conceived a new one! Safe danger! It is dangerous, but not that much, I don’t know :p
Thank you teacher,
i just wanted to add it was the most awesome video intro ever
kind regards
10 out of 10
thank you.
OMG. Thanks alot, but still don’t think that I need that much oxymoron, haha
Oh and u forgot Rebecca too
Oxymorons good
thank u
Thank you very much Alex
Nice and interesting video. The lesson est very useful.
Thank you Alex for this lessons.My score 100?
Great lesson, jut one feedback, don’t stand in front of the board, keep your right or left not the center, use your arms to point, we the students like to take notes and you are blocking.
Thanks for the useful feedback, eduardo! I’ll try to fix this in the future!
Thank you for this interesting lesson, those examples are great. The only one I’ve got a problem with is ‘growing smaller’, because, at first sight, ‘to grow’ and ‘small’ are kind of the opposite of each other, but ‘to grow’ does not necessarily mean ‘to get bigger’. For example, you can grow tired of something, grow to love someone or in the evening it grows dark. So in these examples grow means something similar to ‘become’ or ‘get’, just like in ‘grow small’. But it really is a strange and funny expression.
Thanks Alex, That was great,
I am one of the regular visitors to this site , it is very useful for English learning. All the teachers are amazing and they are helping people in part of the world where they have no access for proper English teaching, . Hope this effort will continue,
hello Alex, thank you for the lesson.
But I don’t understand the reason why we use oxymorons? Or we have to avoid in our speaking those pairs you’ve described?
You can definitely use them, as they are very common in speaking. You’ll hear them in movies and on television a lot as well.
tnk u
Thank You Alex. I didn’t know about oxymorons, I mean I knew them before but without that name. I did the quiz and I got a question. What is the difference between “working vacation” and “working time off”. As I read in the dictionary, it means a vacation. Maybe it’s just more common say vacation than time off. Could you clarify it for me?
Thank You. I always see ypur classes, they are always intresting and sometimes funny.
Bye.
Thanks for the lesson, I understand every oxymorons!
now i know what is an oxymoron.but there are some of the oxymorons on your lesson that i don’t know their meaning
u forgot Crying laughing
Hello. Alex. This lesson is so interesting !!
I’ve naver heard of these words. First, I thought that you just introduced some opposite words but afterwards I realized those words are used as one speech. Thank you for letting me know about them^^
Thanks, Alex. Great lesson!
That’s very helpful… Thanks a lot Alex.
I don’t understand can we use the oxymoron both words in one sentence ?
Yes, they are set phrases that are often used together.
Literaly devices. Oxymorons can be Symbolic language, metaphors, poetical sense Edgar Allan Poe style “pain ecstasy” “death life” or Charles Bukowsky in his poem: “Genius of the crowd” “love hate”.
I did mean: Oxymoronics “Literary devices” (poetry) not “literaly devices” So it can be ironics expressions
Thanks Alex
The yours is a very helpful lesson, I didn’t know so much about oxymoron in English, your explanation has been very clear.
Great learning
This lesson on oxymorons was really FUN and SERIOUS! I´m kidding. I laughed out loud during it. Thank U, teacher Adam.
Alex!Thank you so much for your lesson.It’s very interesting for nonnative speaker.
Thank you!Adam that was interesting.
Sorry!Alex i meant.
I’ve heard some of these oxymorons, thanks teacher Alex for such useful and helpful lesson to make my English nicer.
Thank you ! learned new concept in english
Thank you Alex. You are the best teacher for me :)
I’m happy to help! Thanks for clicking!
What a great lesson! Well done .
thank you alex !
Thanks Alex! This lesson has enriched my vocabulary.
Excellent! I’m glad I could help out.
Thanks Alex for this lesson!
Good to hear from you, this deafening silence was unbearable.
I saw other day in a dictionary another interesting figure of speech: paranomasia.
About the ending
If I were from the Olympic Committee, I would give you all, the teachers and the EngVid site, gold medals :)
But, as a simple citizen from the world, I intend to support you from time to time, as a form of recognition for your impressive and important work!
you all
Thanks, Fabio! That’s much appreciated.
According to Google Translate: https://translate.google.com/#en/tr/biases
Please listen to the pronunciation
Nice! Thanks a lot.
Can you tell me what is the difference between’I live near the sea and I live nearby the sea’.I always confuse with these two words. Thanks.
hi alex what does that mean
In standard English a double negative has a different meaning.
I didn’t see no one. I saw one of my friends. (= I saw someone.)
We can’t do nothing. (= We must do something.)
i do not understand very well ?
this is a funny lesson
great job T.Alex
Hi from Argentina! Everything you said in this video is unbelievably true. My grateful is currently endless.
It’s curious about the etymology of the second part, because it sounds like an insult. I mean… don’t ever say that cos’ is wrong. Thank you professor nice lesson
What a fun and interesting lesson! I had noticed those contradictory words together in books and movies, but I didn’t know they were called oxymorons. I didn’t even know that word existed. Thanks for this great class, Alex!
Very good lesson!
Thank you Alex, may Jesus bless you and your family.
thank you Mr. , you want to tell us these words can’t be used together ???
thank you teacher, i love the way you teach. Good voice!
What a funny lesson!
Thank you Alex! I am very happy to be your student.
I like your oxymorons, I like the idioms, I like all your lessons! Thank you
In my country, we use oxymoranic like original copy, crash landing, only choice etc. thanks for the lesson
Thank you for the interesting material!
thanks man
Thank you, Alex!
Seriously funny lesson :)
10/10, thank you Alex.
10/10. Very good lesson,Alex, as usual.
Thanks Alex!
10 out of 10.
The Quiz is a great supplement especially to this lesson.
Alex, you could add another: the atom elements or the atom parts
Although I got 10 correct out of 10, I don’t really understand how to use those oxymorons in everyday conversations.
Hi Alex nice to text you, wish you be okay, so what the difference between shrimp jumbo and jumbo shrimp?
Hi everyone, I want to make group of some friends to practice and practice ( conversations )
Any one interested this is my WhatsApp number
+966590988710
???
I got 9/10
9/10 Alex, thank you!