From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishironyi‧ron‧y /ˈaɪərəni $ ˈaɪrə-/ ●○○ noun (plural ironies) 1 STRANGEFUNNY[countable, uncountable] a situation that is unusual or amusing because something strange happens, or the opposite of what is expected happens or is true Life is full of little ironies.tragic/cruel/bitter etc irony The tragic irony is that the drug was supposed to save lives.2 ALFUNNY[uncountable] when you use words that are the opposite of what you really mean, often in order to be amusingtrace/hint/touch of irony Wagner calls his program ‘the worst talk show in America, ’ without a hint of irony.heavy irony British English (=a lot of irony) ‘Of course Michael won’t be late; you know how punctual he always is, ’ she said with heavy irony.► see thesaurus at language → sarcasm, dramatic irony
Examples from the Corpus
irony• And the bitterest irony of all was that he himself was a victim.• Perhaps the author is being satirical, employing irony, allegory, or ambiguity.• Life is full of ironies, some hilarious, some tragic.• Beneath the cynicism, beneath the irony, however, turmoil.• We thank Flaubert for picking it up; in a sense, the irony wasn't there until he observed it.• It is worth stressing the irony of the applicant's position.• The irony continued throughout its pages.• The irony of it is that he has the persistence to get somewhere.• The irony is that some of the poorest countries have the richest natural resources.• The irony of the situation was obvious -- if I told the truth, nobody would believe me!• Through irony and humor, James dilutes the seriousness of the novel.• The tragic irony is that the drug was supposed to save lives.The ... irony is that• The irony is that it achieved precisely what Ranieri had hoped: It made home mortgages look more like other bonds.• The irony is that Louis Farrakhan has to teach them to us.• The irony is that our very success seems to breed more extremism in the environmental community and greater detachment from reality.• The irony is that outside the church is a tramp.• The irony is that when parents' relationship suffer, kids know it and feel it.• The irony is that you can create the same look for a tenner down the market.• The horrible irony is that it is in that very surrender that community itself is founded.heavy irony• The intention is to curb the spread of package-tour baroque and heavy irony.Origin irony (1500-1600) Latin ironia, from Greek eironeia, from eiron “person who lies” 