Definition
(Noun) A figure of speech in which a pair of opposed or markedly contradictory terms are placed in conjunction for emphasis.
In Context
“Pianoforte (or sometimes fortepiano) – the original name of the musical instrument now called simply a piano – is also a one-word oxymoron because in music the Italian piano means soft and forte (pronounced FOR-tay) means loud.”
Charles Harrington Elster, Word Workout: Building a Muscular Vocabulary in 10 Easy Steps, 2014.