ironic
[ahy-ron-ik]
- 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.
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Origin of ironic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
unexpected, mocking, incongruous, twisted, sardonic, ridiculous, satiric, caustic, satirical, wry, arrogant, paradoxical, acrid, alert, backbiting, biting, bitter, burlesque, clever, contemptuousExamples from the Web for ironic
Contemporary Examples
So it was ironic a couple of months later when the Tea Partiers were railing against it—it had already expired.
Ironic, since it was originally meant to suppress sugar lust.
How ironic that the Hermit Kingdom is taking the blame for our first real look inside a clique that not even Vice dares penetrate.
How ironic and unfortunate that the critics tend to focus on one “bad” class or the other.
That is ironic politically because just this spring Obama asked Congress to narrow the 2001 AUMF or even consider phasing it out.
Historical Examples
The ironic part of it was that, for all that had happened, I was busier all the time.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
Her mother turned the echo of this phrase into an ironic lament.
Alice AdamsBooth Tarkington
What a subject I have presented to you all these years for the exercise of your ironic faculty!
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
Fate, the ironic interloper, had taken a hand in this evil game.
The Historical Nights Entertainment, Second SeriesRafael Sabatini
Was this the ironic destiny of all ideals too austere for earth, too divine for humanity?
Audrey CravenMay Sinclair
ironic
ironical
- of, characterized by, or using irony
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ironic
adj.
1620s, from Late Latin ironicus, from Greek eironikos "dissembling, putting on a feigned ignorance," from eironeia (see irony). Related: Ironical (1570s); ironically.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper