ironical

American  

[ahy-ron-i-kuhl] / aɪˈrɒn ɪ kəl /

adjective

1. pertaining to, of the nature of, exhibiting, or characterized by irony or mockery: an ironical smile.

   an ironical compliment;

   an ironical smile.

   Synonyms:

   sardonic, sarcastic

2. using or prone to irony.

   an ironical speaker.

   Synonyms:

   sardonic, sarcastic

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Other Word Forms

• ironically
  adverb
• ironicalness
  noun
• nonironical
  adjective
• nonironicalness
  noun
• semi-ironical
  adjective
• unironical
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of ironical

First recorded in 1570–80; ironic + -al ¹

Explanation

Something that's ironical is wryly funny, especially because it doesn't match up with your expectations. It would be ironical to name your enormous Great Dane "Tiny." You can describe this kind of humor, situation, or literary device as either ironical or ironic — in the US it's more common to use the latter. A famously ironical passage from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" goes like this: "Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” In other words, it's ironical that despite being surrounded by water, the mariner is thirsty. The word comes from the Greek eironikos, "putting on a feigned ignorance."

Example Sentences

Knight has taken the novel’s Gothic elements and smeared them over whatever was light or comical or ironical in the original.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2023

“I don’t know if it’s ironical, or a blessing, but I had 20 years of experience being around disabled athletes, so I have an understanding of what’s going on,” he said.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2022

Greif is the co-founder of the Brooklyn literary journal n+1, and he shares with his cenacle formidable powers of analysis, a coolly ironical worldview and a vaguely Marxist orientation.

From Washington Post • Mar. 8, 2017

Cohen, whose family was both prominent and cultivated, had an ironical view of himself.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 10, 2016

Our Father takes their ironical and self-interested tone to indicate a lack of genuine grief.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver