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I am obsessed with story. I had a late awakening in life. In college was the first time that I understood what you could do with a story and what a good novel is - literary value and subtext and irony and everything.
Shane Carruth

Meaning of "irony" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD IRONY

From Latin ironia, from Greek eirōneia, from eirōn dissembler, from eirein to speak.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF IRONY

irony  [ˈaɪrənɪ] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF IRONY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Irony is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES IRONY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

irony

Irony

Irony (from Ancient Greek εἰρωνεία (eirōneía), meaning "dissimulation, feigned ignorance"), in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or event characterized by an incongruity, or contrast, between what the expectations of a situation are and what is really the case, with a third element, that defines that what is really the case is ironic because of the situation that led to it. Irony may be divided into categories such as: verbal, dramatic, and situational. Verbal, dramatic, and situational irony are often used for emphasis in the assertion of a truth. The ironic form of simile, used in sarcasm, and some forms of litotes can emphasize one's meaning by the deliberate use of language which states the opposite of the truth, denies the contrary of the truth, or drastically and obviously understates a factual connection. Other forms, as identified by historian Connop Thirlwall, include dialectic and practical irony.

Definition of irony in the English dictionary

The first definition of irony in the dictionary is the humorous or mildly sarcastic use of words to imply the opposite of what they normally mean. Other definition of irony is an instance of this, used to draw attention to some incongruity or irrationality. Irony is also incongruity between what is expected to be and what actually is, or a situation or result showing such incongruity.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH IRONY


Albany
ˈɔːlbənɪ
Anthony
ˈæntənɪ
asynchrony
eɪˈsɪŋkrənɪ
balcony
ˈbælkənɪ
barony
ˈbærənɪ
ceremony
ˈsɛrɪmənɪ
chevrony
ˈʃɛvrənɪ
company
ˈkʌmpənɪ
diachrony
daɪˈækrənɪ
ebony
ˈɛbənɪ
Germany
ˈdʒɜːmənɪ
harmony
ˈhɑːmənɪ
heterochrony
ˌhetəˈrɒkrənɪ
perone
ˈpɛrənɪ
saffrony
ˈsæfrənɪ
symphony
ˈsɪmfənɪ
synchrony
ˈsɪŋkrənɪ
synthroni
ˈsɪnθrənɪ
tiffany
ˈtɪfənɪ
tyranny
ˈtɪrənɪ

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE IRONY

ironman
ironmaster
ironmonger
ironmonger´s
ironmongery
ironness
irons
Ironside
ironsides
ironsmith
ironstone
ironstone china
ironware
ironweed
ironwoman
ironwood
ironwork
ironworker
ironworks

WORDS THAT END LIKE IRONY

agony
Antony
awards ceremony
bony
colony
crony
dramatic irony
drony
felony
matrimony
opening ceremony
peony
phony
pony
Socratic irony
stony
telephony
testimony
tony
tragic irony

Synonyms and antonyms of irony in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «IRONY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «irony» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of irony

Translation of «irony» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF IRONY

Find out the translation of irony to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of irony from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «irony» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

讽刺
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

ironía
570 millions of speakers

English

irony
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

विडंबना
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

سُخْرِيَّة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

ирония
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

ironia
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

বিদ্রূপ
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

ironie
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

ironi
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Ironie
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

皮肉
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

풍자
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Ironi
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

sự mỉa mai
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

முரண்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

विडंबन
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

alay
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

ironia
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

ironia
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

іронія
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

ironie
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

ειρωνεία
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

ironie
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

ironi
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

ironi
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of irony

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «IRONY»

The term «irony» is very widely used and occupies the 21.438 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
90
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «irony» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of irony
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «irony».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «IRONY» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «irony» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «irony» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about irony

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «IRONY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word irony.
1
Anatole Broyard
We are all tourists in history, and irony is what we win in wars.
2
Carter Burwell
There is not much irony when people are being happy on screen.
3
Samuel Butler
Neither irony or sarcasm is argument.
4
Mark Canton
Hollywood is a place of great irony at all times.
5
Shane Carruth
I am obsessed with story. I had a late awakening in life. In college was the first time that I understood what you could do with a story and what a good novel is - literary value and subtext and irony and everything.
6
Dick Cavett
Perhaps the saddest irony of depression is that suicide happens when the patient gets a little better and can again function sufficiently.
7
Michael Connelly
That's the irony in the work: the best stories are the worst things that happen. My best times were somebody else's worst.
8
Stanley Crouch
The grand irony, however, is that Southern segregation was not brought to an end, nor redneck violence dramatically reduced, by violence.
9
Josephine de La Baume
I think the French have a romantic cliche that Englishmen have great style, great music, irony and sense of humour. Well, sometimes cliches are true.
10
Nick Denton
Henry Blodget does occasionally have a new idea. If you're making a point about aggregation or the emptiness of modern journalism, he's far from the best target. Try Huffpo - or Gawker writers whose souls have been corroded by irony.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «IRONY»

Discover the use of irony in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to irony and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Irony in Context
From the point of view of an analyzing observer, Barbe provides an eclectic approach to irony in context, a study of how conversational irony works, and how it compares with other concepts in which it plays a role.
Katharina Barbe, 1995
2
A CASE FOR IRONY
Joan Didion has lamented that Obama’s United States is an “irony-free zone." Here Jonathan Lear argues that irony is one of the tools we use to live seriously, to get the hang of becoming human.
Jonathan Lear, 2011
3
Irony in Language and Thought: A Cognitive Science Reader
A much-needed resource in the area of figurative language, this volume centers on a theme from cognitive science - that irony is a fundamental way of thinking about the human experience.
Raymond W. Gibbs, Herbert L. Colston, 2007
4
A Rhetoric of Irony
Excerpts from works by Defoe, Beckett, and other writings illuminated the progresses by which individuals perceive, interpret, and communicate deliberately ironic statements in speed and writing
Wayne C. Booth, 1974
5
Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity
In this 1989 book Rorty argues that thinkers such as Nietzsche, Freud, and Wittgenstein have enabled societies to see themselves as historical contingencies, rather than as expressions of underlying, ahistorical human nature or as ...
Richard Rorty, 1989
6
Romantic Irony
This is the first collaborative international reading of irony as a major phenomenon in Romantic art and thought.
Frederick Garber, 1988
7
The Irony of Vietnam: The System Worked
Argues that although U.S. foreign policy failed with regard to the Vietnam War, the decision making processes worked
Leslie H. Gelb, 2001
8
Irony's Edge: The Theory and Politics of Irony
A fascinating and compulsively readable study of the myriad forms and effects of the ironic. Linda Hutcheon sets out for the first time a clear and sustained analysis of the theory and political context of irony, from Madonnna to Wagner.
Linda Hutcheon, 2003
9
The Big Book of Irony
The author of The Portable Curmudgeon defines and explores the various uses of irony in history and the modern world, providing a wealth of demonstrative quotes while sharing tongue-in-cheek observations about how irony is applied by ...
Jon Winokur, 2007
10
Irony in Action: Anthropology, Practice, and the Moral ...
The result of a meeting where anthropologists were invited to explore the politics of irony and the moral responsibilities that accompany its recognition, this book looks at both the positive and negative aspects of irony and lends an ...
James Fernandez, Mary Taylor Huber, 2001

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «IRONY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term irony is used in the context of the following news items.
1
An Irony in Asian-American Voting - WSJ
The irony is that because conservative Republican principles reward hard work and accomplishment with focus on the individual, while ... «Wall Street Journal, Jul 15»
2
Aditi Phadnis: Irony, thy name is Sri Lanka | Business Standard …
Aditi Phadnis: Irony, thy name is Sri Lanka. The country has a fiendishly complicated electoral system that is a combination of population-based ... «Business Standard, Jul 15»
3
Letter: Irony, hypocrisy in Bush speaking fees - Reno Gazette-Journal
I just read where a smiling George W. Bush, i.e., the president that got us into two unnecessary wars, resulting in thousands of our military men ... «Reno Gazette Journal, Jul 15»
4
allAfrica.com: Zimbabwe: The Death of Irony in Zimbabwe
Waza blogger Farai Siebert Mabeza marvels at the irony (or lack of it). I recently came across this impertinent headline on the irreverent news ... «AllAfrica.com, Jul 15»
5
Washington Examiner: Plenty of irony in Hillary's economic vision …
If you didn't have time to watch Hillary Clinton's big economic address on Monday, she presented an economic vision that was rich with irony. «NewsOK.com, Jul 15»
6
Commentary: Irony, oh irony - Eden Prairie News: Columnists
There is a certain irony smacking me in the face today. I intended this to be a day off. The sun is out in a summer-sort of way and we haven't ... «SW News Media, Jul 15»
7
Irony alert: Indian held in China as a terror suspect for NGO activities
Beijing: In an excursion trip gone “horribly wrong”, 20 tourists, including an Indian national, were detained in China on charges of having terror ... «Firstpost, Jul 15»
8
Phil Lyman finds irony in being face of ATV activism
In this April 22, 2015, file photo, San Juan County commissioner Phil Lyman leaves the federal courthouse, in Salt Lake City. Lyman convicted ... «Deseret News, Jul 15»
9
'Ironic Irony': a poem about the Dog Mountain forest fire
A hectare and a half at first, it spread till hell and heaven blended in the red inferno on the skyline, till the haze of smoke blockaded aircraft from ... «Alberni Valley Times, Jul 15»
10
Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla Model S oil mag, WV's EV irony
West Virginia, with its generous EV incentives, also has the dirtiest grid of any state in the country. Until 2013, West Virginia promoted EV ... «Autoblog, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Irony [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/irony>. Apr 2024 ».
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