irony.
The quality of a statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context.
Meaning & usage
The quality of a statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context.
The quality of a statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context. An ironic statement.
Dramatic irony: a theatrical effect in which the meaning of a situation, or some incongruity in the plot, is understood by the audience, but not by the characters in the play.
Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Ancient Greek εἴρων (eírōn) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek -είᾱ (-eíā) Ancient Greek εἰρωνείᾱ (eirōneíā)der. Latin īrōnīader. Old French Middle French ironieder. English irony First attested in 1502. From Middle French ironie, from Old French, from Latin īrōnīa, from Ancient Greek εἰρωνεία (eirōneía, “irony, pretext”), from εἴρων (eírōn, “one who feigns ignorance”).
Of or pertaining to the metal iron.
The food had an irony taste to it.
The scrap yard had bins marked for irony aluminum, such as aluminum engine blocks not wholly cleaned of bolts, studs, brackets, and so on.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English hyrony, yreny, yrony, yrunny, equivalent to iron + -y.
A kind of metallic marble.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English hyrony, yreny, yrony, yrunny, equivalent to iron + -y.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.