A List of Oxymorons for Your Homeschool


I love that word.

It has so much character.

Of course, examples of this type of figure of speech have character too.

They’re contradictory, satirical, rebellious, and downright conflicting in nature.

That’s because, by definition, an oxymoron is a combination of words that contradict each other like the phrase “new antiques.”

Are they “new” or are they “antique”?

Maybe neither?

Oxymorons are a fun figure of speech to share with your children. They can hunt for them in literature or use them in their daily speech.

I think it would be neat to have an Oxymoron Day where you try to catch as many oxymorons written or spoken as you can. You could also try to USE as many oxymorons as you can throughout your day.

Just a thought.

Anyway, below is a list of oxymorons to share with your children. This is by no means complete. There are just too many oxymorons floating around out there (and being created daily) for me to include in this list. But I thought I’d at least give you a sampling. Enjoy!


accidentally on purpose
accurate estimate
accurate rumors
act naturally
adult child
advanced beginner
almost done
almost there
alone in a crowd
alone together
American English
another one
approximately equal
awfully good
awfully nice

bad luck
black gold
blind eye
boneless ribs

calculated risk
civil disobedience
clean dirt
clearly confused
clearly misunderstood
clever fool
completely unfinished
constant change
constant variable
crash landing
curved line

deafening silence
definite maybe
deliberate mistake
distant relative
dull knife
dull pain

educated guess
even odds
exact estimate
expert amateur

fail safe
fine mess
first annual
found missing
free slave
freezer burn
fresh frozen
front end
fuzzy logic

genuine imitation
giant miniature
global village
graduate student
grown child

half full
happy demise
harmless sin
honest crook
hopelessly optimistic

ill health
immediate future
increasing declines
individual group
inside out

jumbo shrimp
just war

larger half
least favorite
less is more
liquid crystal
literal interpretation
(a) little big
live recording
living death
loose fit
loud whisper
love-hate relationship

major general
medium large
midnight sun
minor disaster
much less

near miss
never again
new antiques
new routine
now then
numb feeling

objective opinion
old news
once again
one pair
only choice
organized mess
original copy

paid volunteer
partially completed
passive aggressive
plastic glasses
plastic silverware
poor little rich girl
pretty ugly
puppy dog

questionable answer
quiet noise

random order
real-life fairy tale
reckless caution
regular special
relaxation exercise
resident alien
restless sleep
retired worker

sad smile
same difference
science fiction
second best
serious fun
sharp curve
short distance
silent applause
slow race
small world
solved mystery
steel wool
still moving
student teacher
sun shade
sure bet
sweet sorrow
sweet tart

temporary fix
thinking out loud
timeless moment
tough love
true story

unattainable victory
unbelievably real
uncommonly common
uninvited guest
unusual routine
upside down

valuable junk
vanilla fudge
vastly small
virtual reality

water vapor
whole piece
wordless book
work party
working vacation

young adult

zero deficit

* * *

Did you and your children have fun with this list of oxymorons? I hope you did. You are more than welcome to share this list of rebellious phrases with anyone you like, just don’t blame me if it causes any conflict in your life. 😉

Many blessings,
Susan's siggy

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