Irony Definition

Figure of speech in which the ordinary meaning of the words is more or less the opposite of what the poet intends.

Irony Poem Example

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[n] incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs; "the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated"
[n] witty language used to convey insults or scorn; "he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"; "irony is wasted on the stupid"
[n] a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs

Synonyms

caustic remark, sarcasm, satire

See Also...

antiphrasis, dramatic irony, figure, figure of speech, humor, humour, image, incongruity, incongruousness, Socratic irony, trope, wit, witticism, wittiness

Related Terms

agile wit, ambiguity, ambiguousness, ambivalence, amphibology, antinomy, Atticism, biformity, bifurcation, black humor, burlesque, caricature, causticity, comedy, complexity of meaning, conjugation, cynicism, dichotomy, double entendre, double meaning, do

Misc. Definitions

\I"ron*y\, a. [From {Iron}.]
1. Made or consisting of iron; partaking of iron; iron; as, irony chains; irony particles. [R.]
\I"ron*y\, n.[L. ironia, Gr. ? dissimulation, fr. ? a dissembler in speech, fr. ? to speak; perh. akin to E. word: cf. F. ironie.]
1. Dissimulation; ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
2. 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.