irony
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
When what happens is the opposite of what you would expect.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
eyeruhneeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈaɪɹəni
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.
noun
informal
Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.
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.
countable
An ironic statement.
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.
Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
adjective
Of or pertaining to the metal iron.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.
Used this way, irony is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Casual
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Casual and conversational
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use irony
- “The irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated.”noun
Share your sentence
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.
Contrary to plan or expectation.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.
Admission of your own ignorance and willingness to learn while exposing someone's inconsistencies by close questioning.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: contradiction between circumstances and expectations
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Collections with this word
Themed sets you can browse for free.
Use it yourself
Knowing “irony” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
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.