Irony (Noun)
Meaning 1
Witty language used to convey insults or scorn; "he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"; "irony is wasted on the stupid"; "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own"--Jonathan Swift.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 2
A trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 3
Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs; "the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated".
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
Examples
- The irony of a fire station catching on fire was not lost on the local residents who witnessed the blaze.
- The singer's song about world peace was interrupted by a fight breaking out in the crowd, a stark example of irony.
- The city's campaign to reduce waste was led by a mayor who was notorious for his lavish spending habits, an irony that many citizens found difficult to ignore.
- The winner of the 'most punctual employee' award was late to accept the prize, a moment of irony that brought laughter to the ceremony.
- A self-proclaimed health expert was spotted smoking a cigarette, highlighting the irony of their contradictory actions.