<B>paradox, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a statement that may be true but seems to say two opposite things. "More haste, less speed," and "The child is father to the man" are paradoxes. <DD><B> 2. </B>a statement that is false because it says two opposite things. <BR> <I>Ex. There is that glorious epicurean paradox ...: "give us the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with its necessaries" (Oliver Wendell Holmes).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a person or thing that seems to be full of contradictions. <BR> <I>Ex. Man is an embodied paradox, a bundle of contradictions (Charles Caleb Colton).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a statement contrary to received opinion or belief. <DD><B> 5. </B>any inconsistent or contradictory fact, action, or condition. <BR> <I>Ex. The Western Allies celebrated the World War II victory over Germany today with the paradox of embracing their old enemy as a new ally (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<B>paradoxical, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of paradoxes; having to do with a paradox. <BR> <I>Ex. Comedians, paradoxical as it may seem, may be too natural (Charles Lamb).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>having the habit of using paradoxes. <BR> <I>Ex. He was an external talker--brilliant, various, paradoxical, florid (Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton).</I> adv. <B>paradoxically.</B> noun <B>paradoxicalness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="paradoxicalsleep">
<B>paradoxical sleep,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of about five periods in a night's sleep, each period lasting about ten minutes, during which dreams occur and the body undergoes marked changes, including rapid eye movement, loss of reflexes, and increased brain activity; REM sleep. <BR> <I>Ex. After about an hour of this orthodox sleep phase, a change occurs and paradoxical sleep begins and lasts about 10 minutes before orthodox sleep is resumed ... In paradoxical sleep, unlike orthodox sleep, the blood flow through the brain is increased far above waking levels (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="paradoxist">
<B>paradoxist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person given to paradoxes. </DL>
<A NAME="paradoxure">
<B>paradoxure, </B>noun. <B>=palm civet.</B></DL>
<A NAME="paradrop">
<B>paradrop, </B>noun, verb, <B>-dropped,</B> <B>-dropping.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> an airdrop by means of a parachute. <BR> <I>Ex. Carrier crews recently dropped 400 tons of construction vehicles in the first mass paradrop of heavy engineering equipment (Science News Letter).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to drop (something) by parachute. </DL>
<B>paraffin, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>a colorless or white, almost tasteless substance, like wax, used for making candles and for sealing jars of jelly or jam; paraffin wax. Paraffin has no odor and is a solid at ordinary temperatures. It is obtained chiefly from crude petroleum, being chemically a mixture of hydrocarbons. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Chemistry.) <DD><B> a. </B>any member of the methane series. Ethane, propane, and butane are paraffins. <DD><B> b. </B>one of the solid (higher) members of this series, that boils at temperatures over 300 degrees centigrade (Celsius). Commercial paraffin is made up largely of these hydrocarbons. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=paraffin oil.</B> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to cover or treat with paraffin. </DL>
<B>paraffinic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> derived from, related to, or like the paraffins. <BR> <I>Ex. The microorganisms are capable of consuming certain paraffinic hydrocarbons found in petroleum (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="paraffinoil">
<B>paraffin oil,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of various oils associated with paraffin, such as oils distilled from bituminous shale, oils obtained from petroleum (especially, heavy or lubricating oils), and oils from which paraffin may be made. <DD><B> 2. </B>(British.) kerosene. </DL>
<B>paraffin test,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a measurement of the amount of gunpowder nitrates contained in a paraffin mold of a person's hand. It is used in criminology to determine whether or not a suspect has recenty fired a gun. <BR> <I>Ex. Evidence has long been accumulating which shows that the standard "paraffin test" ... is unreliable (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="paraffinwax">
<B>paraffin wax,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> solid paraffin, as distinct from paraffin oil. </DL>
<A NAME="parafoil">
<B>parafoil, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a combination of parachute and airfoil; parawing. <BR> <I>Ex. The parafoil would enable pilots bailing out over enemy territory to glide like birds until they reached safety (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="paraformaldehyde">
<B>paraformaldehyde, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a colorless powder obtained by the polymerization of formaldehyde, used as an antiseptic. </DL>
<B>paragenesis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the formation of minerals in close contact, so that the development of individual crystals is interfered with, resulting in an interlocked crystalline mass. </DL>
<A NAME="paragenetic">
<B>paragenetic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of, having to do with, or originating by paragenesis. adv. <B>paragenetically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="paraglider">
<B>paraglider, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a kitelike device with flexible wings, designed too slow down the descent of a space vehicle or serve as an independent reentry vehicle. </DL>
<A NAME="paragneiss">
<B>paragneiss, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Geology.) a gneiss formed from sedimentary rock. </DL>
<A NAME="paragoge">
<B>paragoge, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the addition of a letter, sound, or syllable at the end of a word, often for ease in pronunciation, without changing the meaning of the word. (Examples:) among-<I>st, height-╖th</I> (substandard). </DL>
<A NAME="paragogic">
<B>paragogic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or of the nature of paragoge. </DL>
<A NAME="paragon">
<B>paragon, </B>noun, adjective, verb, <B>-goned,</B> <B>-goning.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a model of excellence or perfection. <BR> <I>Ex. a paragon of beauty. Winter, the paragon of art, that kills all forms of life ... save what is pure and will survive (Roy Campbell).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a flawless diamond weighing 100 carats or more. <DD><B> 3. </B>a size of printing type (20 points) twice as large as long primer. <DD><I>adj. </I> of surpassing excellence. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>(Archaic.) to parallel; compare. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) to match; mate. <BR> <I>Ex. Pass to join your peers, paragon charm with charm (Robert Browning).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) to excel; surpass. <BR> <I>Ex. A maid that paragons description (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) to set forth as a perfect model. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) to typify; exemplify. </DL>
<A NAME="paragonite">
<B>paragonite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of mica analogous to muscovite but containing sodium instead of potassium. </DL>
<A NAME="paragraph">
<B>paragraph, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a group of sentences that belong together; distinct part of a chapter, letter, or composition. A paragraph usually has some unifying elements, such as meaning or subject, that are not shared with the sentences that come before or follow. Paragraphs usually begin on a new line which is indented, except in some business letters. <DD><B> 2. </B>a separate note or item of news in a newspaper. <BR> <I>Ex. She had been irritated by newspaper paragraphs--nobody could ever find out who wrote them (H. G. Wells).</I> <DD><B> 3a. </B>a sign used to show where a paragraph begins or should begin, used mostly in correcting written or printed work. <DD><B> b. </B>such a sign used to indicate a note or footnote. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to divide into paragraphs. <BR> <I>Ex. to paragraph an essay.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to write paragraphs about. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to write paragraphs. </DL>
<A NAME="paragrapher">
<B>paragrapher, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who writes paragraphs, as for a newspaper. <BR> <I>Ex. A gossip paragrapher in the evening newspaper said darkly that the situation had become "intolerable" (Maclean's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="paragraphia">
<B>paragraphia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the writing of words and letters other than those intended, an aphasia associated with certain disorders caused by injury to the brain. </DL>
<A NAME="paragraphic">
<B>paragraphic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of, having to do with, or divided into paragraphs; forming a paragraph. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with paragraphia. </DL>
<B>paragraph loop,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a loop in figure skating in which a series of turns are introduced at various points of the circle. </DL>
<A NAME="paraguayan">
<B>Paraguayan, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Paraguay, a country in central South America, or its inhabitants. <DD><I>noun </I> a native or inhabitant of Paraguay. </DL>
<A NAME="paraguayancat">
<B>Paraguayan cat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a South American domestic cat smaller than most domestic cats that has been bred for over 300 years. </DL>
<A NAME="paraguaytea">
<B>Paraguay tea, =mate.</B></DL>
<A NAME="parahydrogen">
<B>para-hydrogen, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a form of hydrogen consisting of molecules whose pairs of nuclei have spins in opposite directions. </DL>
<A NAME="parainfluenza">
<B>parainfluenza, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a respiratory illness similar to influenza, caused by any of various viruses that are associated with the common cold and various other respiratory diseases. </DL>
