Meaning of irony in English

Table of contents

Noun
irony
Etymology
early 16th century (also denoting Socratic irony): via Latin from Greek eirōneia‘simulated ignorance’, from eirōn‘dissembler’
Definitions
1. witty language used to convey insults or scorn
Examples
- « he used sarcasm to upset his opponent »
- « irony is wasted on the stupid »
- « Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own--Johathan Swift »
Derived terms
2. incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs
Examples
- « the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated »
3. a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs

Famous quotes

« The irony is that it was tougher to rent a car from Cerberus when it owned Alamo than to buy a semi-automatic. To rent a car, one had to provide ID, a drivers' license, and get insurance coverage. To buy a gun? Cash and carry, from the back of a station wagon at a gun show. No concerns about downstream liability or risk. »
Eliot Spitzer
« My father could be very witty, even if the humor was always on the darker side of irony. »
Maurice Sendak
« A tragic irony of life is that we so often achieve success or financial independence after the chief reason for which we sought it has passed away. »
Ellen Glasgow
« Certainly, it seems true enough that there's a good deal of irony in the world... I mean, if you live in a world full of politicians and advertising, there's obviously a lot of deception. »
Kenneth Koch
« You know, in my music career there was a moment where the irony was just so heavy. There were people in my audience that were the reason I developed neuroses. These people that tortured my life were using my art, my poetry, as fuel for them, to torture other people. »
Fred Durst