irony
UK /ˈaɪə.ɹə.ni/ · US /ˈaɪ.ɹə.ni/ noun, adjective
Forms ironies
- noun (rhetoric) 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.
- noun (countable) An ironic statement.
- noun 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.
- noun Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
- noun (informal) Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the metal iron. “The food had an irony taste to it.”
- noun (childish, dated) A kind of metallic marble.
Synonyms
Etymology
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”).
From Middle English hyrony, yreny, yrony, yrunny, equivalent to iron + -y.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Made or consisting of iron; partaking of iron; iron; as, irony chains; irony particles. [R.] Woodward.
- adjective Resembling iron taste, hardness, or other physical property.
- noun Dissimulation; ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
- noun A sort of humor, ridicule, or light sarcasm, which adopts a mode of speech the meaning of which is contrary to the literal sense of the words.
Etymology [From Iron.]
Etymology [L. ironia, Gr. word: cf. F. ironie.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “irony”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details