ironically
Americanadverb
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in a way that uses words to mean the opposite of what they normally mean, or makes an obvious exaggeration or understatement, as a joke or in order to make a point.
French author Voltaire ironically commented on war, “It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
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in a way that is the opposite of what would be expected, often as a remarkable coincidence.
Ironically, one of the main messages of this text on warfare is how to avoid battle through meticulous preparation and planning.
adverb
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(sentence modifier) it is ironic that
ironically, McCoist has never scored against Rangers
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in an ironic manner
I laughed ironically
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ironically
First recorded in 1530–40; ironical ( def. ) + -ly
Explanation
When you see the word ironically, you know there's a disconnect between what is happening and what was expected to happen. You won the race, even though, ironically, you're the only one who didn't train. Ironically and the noun it's related to — irony — come from the Greek eiron meaning "dissembler, someone who hides the truth." But irony isn’t exactly untruthful — it's just not what you expect. Your mother sent you off to camp so you could become a champion tennis player, but, ironically, you broke your leg the first day and spent the summer playing bridge instead. You didn’t get what you (or your mother) expected.
Vocabulary lists containing ironically
Hoot
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Ghost
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The Tipping Point
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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.
But it was not what I wanted to be doing, and it ironically made me feel like just doing self-care wasn’t enough.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
For those who’d insisted that only self-paced classes would attract the market share of international business, the people taking my classes ironically spanned 50 countries.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
That Nixon-era legislation, ironically, made the trade in certain species far more lucrative than it had been.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Alexis Mac Allister's poor challenge on Dani Olmo received nothing more than a brief admonishment, prompting Spain fans to ironically chant the name of Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
I thought to myself, a bit ironically, “Why don’t you take more interest in your own adolescents first!”
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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.
