irony
(noun) incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs; “the irony of Ireland’s copying the nation she most hated”
sarcasm, irony, satire, caustic remark
(noun) witty language used to convey insults or scorn; “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”--Jonathan Swift
irony
(noun) a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs
Source: WordNet® 3.1
irony (countable and uncountable, plural ironies)
(rhetoric) A statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context.
Dramatic irony: a theatrical effect in which the meaning of a situation, or some incongruity in the plot, is understood by the audience, but not by the characters in the play.
Ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist; Socratic irony.
The state of two usually unrelated entities, parties, actions, etc. being related through a common connection in an uncommon way.
(informal) Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected. [from the 1640s]
• Some authorities omit the last sense, "contradiction of circumstances and expectations, condition contrary to what might be expected"; however, it has been in common use since the 1600s.
irony (comparative more irony, superlative most irony)
Of or pertaining to the metal iron.
• ferric
• ferrous
Source: Wiktionary
I"ron*y, a. Etym: [From Iron.]
1. Made or consisting of iron; partaking of iron; iron; as, irony chains; irony particles. [R.] Woodward.
2. Resembling iron taste, hardness, or other physical property.
I"ron*y, n.Etym: [L. ironia, Gr. word: cf. F. ironie.]
1. Dissimulation; ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
2. A sort of humor, ridicule, or light sarcasm, which adopts a mode of speech the meaning of which is contrary to the literal sense of the words.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
27 May 2025
(noun) the property of being directional or maintaining a direction; “the directionality of written English is from left to right”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
