irony

Forms

1.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.
- A principal virtue of Rorty's recognition of both the lightminded and the serious side of irony is to urge us in that direction.
- The second irony is that the only American who intuitively or otherwise grasps this reality and possesses a large enough ego potentially capable of governing in these circumstances is the president.
2.Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.(informal)
3.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.
4.Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.

1.Of or pertaining to the metal iron.
- The food had an irony taste to it.
- There was nothing left, besides just the pile of files on my desk, and the irony look on Catherine's face.
- The scrap yard had bins marked for irony aluminum, such as aluminum engine blocks not wholly cleaned of bolts, studs, brackets, and so on.

Rare· #4874

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.