self-contradictory statement

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "self-contradictory statement" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it when referring to a statement that contradicts itself or contains conflicting ideas. An example is: "The claim that 'I always lie' is a self-contradictory statement." Alternative expressions include "self-refuting statement" and "contradictory assertion."

✓ Grammatically correct

Encyclopedias

News & Media

Science

Reference

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Paradox, apparently self-contradictory statement, the underlying meaning of which is revealed only by careful scrutiny.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

"This unprecedented and improper, indeed, inexplicable conduct, compounded at various times by self-contradictory statements, on behalf of Australia, is not the behaviour of some state that does not subscribe to normal standards of international legal behaviour.

The Guardian

But the government has not produced any credible evidence — more or less nothing beyond some self-contradictory statements that prosecutors concede were tortured out of the boy by the Afghan police.

The New Yorker

Instead, he told the court, the defendants made a series of "banal and self-contradictory" statements during their 2009 meeting, many of which were "at best scientifically useless" or, worse, "misleading".

Science Magazine

Thus the initial statement is self-contradictory.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Yours, A. Lincoln [letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862]I leave it to the reader's imagination what the contemporary news cycle would do with such a self-contradictory, wishy-washy, intellectually absurd statement by a president regarding matters of elemental social justice.(Photo credit: AFP).

The Economist

Consistency, in the broadest sense could be understood in and by itself as possibility; for, if a statement is self-contradictory, it is not possible.

Energy, Sustainability and Society

In George Orwell's 1948-published novel, 1984, all inhabitants of Oceania are always watched by cameras, are served contrived news stories, and are taught to accept as logical truth nonsensical statements that are obviously self-contradictory.

Huffington Post

Some philosophers prefer to define as analytic all statements whose denial would be self-contradictory, and to define the term synthetic as meaning "not analytic".

Encyclopedia Britannica

To deny absolute truth would be to affirm that some "truthful" statements are possible, and thus the skeptic is caught in a self-contradictory attitude toward the possible existence of "truth".

Encyclopedia Britannica

John Moscow, an assistant district attorney, argued in his summation that Mr. Belnick's statements contained "a half-dozen examples of testimony that strains human experience or simply is self-contradictory".

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Ensure the hyphen is included between 'self' and 'contradictory' to function correctly as a compound adjective modifying the noun.

Common error

Do not label a simple false statement as 'self-contradictory'. A statement is only self-contradictory if it refutes itself through its own internal logic, such as saying 'This sentence is false'.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "self-contradictory statement" functions as a complex noun phrase. It utilizes a hyphenated compound adjective to modify a singular noun. According to Ludwig, it is used to denote a specific type of logical inconsistency where the internal components of an assertion are incompatible with one another.

Frequent in

Encyclopedias

35%

News & Media

30%

Science

25%

Less common in

Formal & Business

6%

Social Media

3%

Wiki

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "self-contradictory statement" is a robust and grammatically correct tool for identifying logical flaws. According to Ludwig AI, it is highly reliable and widely used across the most authoritative English sources to describe assertions that negate themselves. Whether you are analyzing a <a href="/s/paradox" target="_blank" rel="alternative">paradox in literature or a <a href="/s/logical+contradiction" target="_blank" rel="alternative">logical contradiction in a legal setting, this phrase provides the necessary precision to challenge the validity of an argument. It is especially common in formal registers and serves as a key term in intellectual discourse to maintain the integrity of rational thinking.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

self-refuting claim

emphasizes that the act of making the assertion provides the evidence for its own falsehood

logical contradiction

focuses on the violation of formal principles of logic where two terms cancel each other out

paradox

suggests a statement that seems contradictory on the surface but may contain a hidden truth

internally inconsistent assertion

highlights that the conflict exists specifically within the structure of a single declaration

oxymoron

refers specifically to a figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms

antithetical remark

implies a statement that is directly opposed to another idea or to itself

conflicting statement

is a broader term that can refer to a single statement or two separate ones that disagree

antinomy

is a more specialized philosophical term for a contradiction between two laws or principles

inconsistent declaration

stresses the lack of harmony or compatibility within the words spoken

ironic statement

suggests a discrepancy between intent and literal meaning rather than a logical failure

FAQs

How do I use "self-contradictory statement" in a sentence?

You can use it to describe an illogical claim, for example: "The witness's testimony was dismissed as a <a href="/s/self-contradictory+statement" target="_blank" rel="alternative">self-contradictory statement because it claimed the suspect was in two places at once."

Is it the same as a paradox?

Not exactly; while a <a href="/s/paradox" target="_blank" rel="alternative">paradox might appear contradictory but hold an underlying truth, a "self-contradictory statement" often simply indicates a logical failure.

Can I use "self-refuting claim" instead?

Yes, a <a href="/s/self-refuting+claim" target="_blank" rel="alternative">self-refuting claim is a very close synonym often used in philosophical debates.

What is an example of a "self-contradictory statement"?

A classic example is the phrase "I always lie", which functions as an <a href="/s/oxymoron" target="_blank" rel="alternative">oxymoron or logical trap because if it is true, it must be false.