irony

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“
Ah … the irony is almost too much to handle.

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Definitions (19)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. noun The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning.
  2. noun An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning.
  3. noun A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect. See Synonyms at wit1.
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Examples (50)

  • Maigret was smiling ironically as he returned to the car, and the irony was addressed to himself. —  Maigret Sets a Trap—Simenon, Georges - 76
  • Today, the irony was almost more than he could stomach. —  Janice Kay Johnson - The Family Next Door
  • Ah, the irony is as thick as the smoke clouds during an MGMT encore. —  Dose.ca Celeb News
  • We used to call that irony, and if this show doesn't prove that irony is alive and well after September 11th, when earnest cultural types announced its obituary, at least the show proves that irony is alive. —  GreenCine Daily
  • So another irony is the far left feels liberals are too far right?
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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French ironie, from Old French, from Latin īrōnīa, from Greek eirōneia, feigned ignorance, from eirōn, dissembler, probably from eirein, to say; see wer-5 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English *irony, yrony, yrunny; from iron + -y.
  2. = D. G. ironie = Danish Swedish ironi, from French ironie = Spanish ironía = Portuguese Italian ironia, from Latin ironia, from Greek εἰρωνεία, dissimulation, irony, from εϊρων, a dissembler, literally ‘one who talks’ (but says less or more than he thinks), present participle of εἰρειν, speak, tell, talk.
 

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/ˈaɪrəni/
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