Definition

Irony:

Main Entry:

iro·ny

Pronunciation:

\ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē\

Function:

noun

Inflected Form(s):

plural iro·nies

Etymology:

Latin ironia, from Greek eirōnia, from eirōn dissembler

Date:

1502

1: a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other’s false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning —called also Socratic irony
2 a: the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning
b: a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony
c: an ironic expression or utterance
3 a (1): incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2): an event or result marked by such incongruity
b: incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play —called also dramatic irony, tragic irony