ironic

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“
Marshals to search for lone abortion clinic bomber Eric Rudolph -- ironic, I say, because at the same time thousands of agents were unsuccessfully attempting to apprehend Rudolph in North Carolina, al-Qa'ida terrorists were taking flight lessons a few hundred miles down the road in Florida, preparing to crash civilian airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the U.S.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Characterized by or constituting irony.
  2. adjective Given to the use of irony. See Synonyms at sarcastic.
  3. adjective Poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended: madness, an ironic fate for such a clear thinker.
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Examples (40)

  • Such name-calling makes the term ironic, not a vehicle for oppression. —  UCLA Stories
  • Pelosi attacking anything as 'ghoulish' is kind of ironic, but I digress.
  • What is especially ironic, and I conclude with this, is that while the video tries to portray Muslims as Nazis, it is the video itself that is spreading the same sort of hatred and intolerance about Muslims similar as what the Nazis created towards Jews, which ultimately led the Nazis to execute one of the greatest crimes against humanity. —  Qwaider Planet
  • We normally try to keep a reserved, ironic, and sceptical air when reading the statements of politicians. —  GuruFocus Updates
  • Independently ironic is the fact that these self-styled complex intellectuals are actually embracing the most intellectually superficial and simplistic form of analysis possible. —  Signs of the Times
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

sardonic ·  ironical ·  sarcastic ·  humorous ·  satirical ·  comical ·  derisive ·  whimsical ·  unpleasant ·  sad ·  caustic ·  malicious
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French ironique = Spanish irónico = Portuguese Italian ironico (cf. D. G. ironisch = Danish Swedish ironisk), from Greek εἰρωνικός, dissembling, ironic, from εἰρωνεία, dissimulation, irony: see irony.
 

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/aɪˈrɑnɪk/
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