grandfather paradox

noun

The paradox of time travel in which inconsistencies emerge through changing the past.

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Meanings

noungrandfather paradox (plural grandfather paradoxes)

plural grandfather paradoxes

  1. The paradox of time travel in which inconsistencies emerge through changing the past.

Origin

From the paradox proposed by the French author René Barjavel in 1944 in his book Le Voyageur Imprudent, translated into English as Future Times Three; in its original form the paradox of one person going back to the past and killing their grandfather before the latter fathered the traveler's father, thus preventing the time traveler from ever being conceived in the first place.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 祖父悖論 /祖父悖论
  • 祖父悖論 /祖父悖论 (zǔfù bèilún)type of paradox
Finnish isoisäparadoksi
  • isoisäparadoksitype of paradox
German Großvaterparadoxon, Großvater-Paradoxon
  • Großvaterparadoxontype of paradox
  • Großvater-Paradoxontype of paradox
Japanese 祖父殺しのパラドックス
  • 祖父殺しのパラドックスtype of paradox
Polish paradoks dziadka
  • paradoks dziadkatype of paradox
Russian парадо́кс уби́того де́душки
  • парадо́кс уби́того де́душки (paradóks ubítovo déduški)type of paradox
Cite this entry
APA

grandfather paradox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grandfather%20paradox

MLA

“grandfather paradox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grandfather%20paradox. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grandfather paradox,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grandfather%20paradox.

Source: grandfather paradox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.