ironically
adverb
Simple meaning
Used to draw attention to an ironic aspect of a situation being described.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
eyerahnihkleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
aɪˈɹɑnɪkli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
manner
In an ironic manner; in a way displaying irony.
evaluative
Used to draw attention to an ironic aspect of a situation being described.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (manner) In an ironic manner; in a way displaying irony.
Used this way, ironically is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use ironically
- “Ironically, he ended up losing money under his own plan.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Witty language used to convey insults or scorn.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.