ironic
Americanadjective
-
using words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning; containing or exemplifying irony.
an ironic novel; an ironic remark.
-
of, relating to, or tending to use irony or mockery; ironical.
-
coincidental; unexpected.
It was ironic that I was seated next to my ex-husband at the dinner.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- ironicalness noun
- nonironic adjective
- semi-ironic adjective
Etymology
Origin of ironic
First recorded in 1620–30; from Late Latin īrōnicus, from Greek eirōnikós “dissembling, insincere;” irony 1, -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Smoking in a raffish suit like a film noir baddie with a shock of red hair ready to torch the world, Noble’s Richard employs a dusky, ironic voice to flaying effect.
From Los Angeles Times
There’s humor in Ibsen’s ironic observations but the play’s climactic moments are deadly serious.
From Los Angeles Times
But he suggests some of the comments are ironic.
From BBC
It is ironic that Harrison’s protest against taxation ended up foreshadowing private markets’ capture of artistic value.
“Duvall’s aging face, a road map of dead ends and dry gulches, can accommodate rage or innocence or any ironic shade in between,” the film critic Richard Corliss wrote in Time magazine.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
