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n. pl. i·ro·nies 1. a. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. b. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning: "the embodiment of the waspish don, from his Oxbridge tweeds to the bone-dry ironies of his speech and prose" (Ron Rosenbaum). 2. a. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs: "Hyde noted the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated" (Richard Kain). b. An occurrence, result, or circumstance notable for such incongruity: the ironies of fate. See Usage Note at ironic. 3. Dramatic irony. 4. Socratic irony. [French ironie, from Old French, from Latin īrōnīa, from Greek eirōneia, feigned ignorance, from eirōn, dissembler, perhaps from eirein, to say; see wer-5 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots, or from eirein, to fasten together in rows, string together; see ser-2 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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