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irony

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irony¹

  • /ˈaɪə.ɹə.ni/ UK
  • /ˈaɪ.ɹə.ni/ Canada, US
  • /ˈaɪ.ɚ.ni/ Canada, US
  • /ˈɑɪ.ɹən.i/ Australia

Where it comes from

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”).

noun ironies

  1. countable, rhetoric, uncountable 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. Irony, saying what it ne'er intends, Censures with praise, and speaks to foes as friends.
  2. countable, rhetoric An ironic statement. It is one of the ironies of capital cities that each acts as a symbol of its nation, and yet few are even remotely representative of it. London has always set itself apart from the rest of Britain — but political, economic and social trends are conspiring to drive that wedge deeper.
  3. countable, uncountable 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. countable, uncountable Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
  5. countable, informal, uncountable Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.

irony²

  • /ˈaɪə.ni/ UK
  • /ˈaɪ.ɚ.ni/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English hyrony, yreny, yrony, yrunny, equivalent to iron + -y.

adjective more irony · most irony

  1. Of or pertaining to the metal iron. The food had an irony taste to it.

    Similar: ferric, ferrous

noun ironies

  1. childish, dated A kind of metallic marble. And before the season's over millions of "glassies" and "aggies" or "ironies" will change hands, and thousands more will manage to get themselves lost.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: satire, sarcasm, caustic remark, paradox, travesty, humor, sarcastic, humour, mockery, ridicule, derision, sardonicism, incongruity, mordancy, cynicism, anticlimax

Translations

Every language

noun statement that may mean the opposite of what is written literally

Españolironía
한국어반어 baneo, 풍자 pungja
日本語反語 hango, 諷刺 fūshi, アイロニー aironī
中文反語 /反语 fǎnyǔ, 反話 /反话 fǎnhuà, 諷刺 /讽刺 fěngcì
हिन्दीविडम्बना viḍambanā, विडंबना viḍambnā, व्यंग्य vyaṅgya
Portuguêsironia
Françaisironie
DeutschIronie
Italianoironia, paradosso
Ελληνικάειρωνεία eironeía
Românăironie
Русскийиро́ния irónija
Tiếng Việtgiống thép, giống gang
العربيةسُخْرِيَة suḵriya, مُفَارَقَة mufāraqa, تَهَكُّم tahakkum, تَعَارُض taʕāruḍ, تَنَافُر tanāfur, اِسْتِهْزَاء istihzāʔ
עבריתאִירוֹנְיָה irónya

noun condition contrary to expectations

Españolironía
हिन्दीविडंबना viḍambnā
Portuguêsironia
Françaisironie du sort
DeutschIronie
Ελληνικάειρωνεία eironeía
Românăironie
Русскийиро́ния irónija

adj of or pertaining to iron

Españolférreo
Portuguêsferroso
Françaisferreux
Ελληνικάσιδερένιος siderénios, σιδηρούς sidiroús
Românăferos

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Cite this
MLA

"irony." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/irony. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

irony. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/irony

Chicago

"irony." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/irony.

BibTeX
@misc{irony_2026,
  title = {irony},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/irony},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}