Meaning of irony | Babel Free

Definitions

1. 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.
   countable, rhetoric, uncountable
2. A kind of metallic marble.
   childish, dated
3. 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. An ironic statement
4. An ironic statement.
   countable, rhetoric
5. An ironic statement
6. 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, uncountable
7. 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
8. Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
   countable, uncountable
9. Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist
10. Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.
    countable, informal, uncountable
11. Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}

Equivalents

Examples

“Irony, saying what it ne'er intends, Censures with praise, and speaks to foes as friends.”

“A principal virtue of Rorty's recognition of both the lightminded and the serious side of irony is to urge us in that direction.”

“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.”

“The second irony is that the only American who intuitively or otherwise grasps this reality and possesses a large enough ego potentially capable of governing in these circumstances is the president.”

“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.”

CEFR level