From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdramatic ironydraˌmatic ˈirony noun [uncountable] APTwhen the people watching a play know something that the characters do not, and can understand the real importance or meaning of what is happening
Examples from the Corpus
dramatic irony• The two basic forms of irony found in these tales are verbal irony and dramatic irony.• It was above all the smile of dramatic irony, of those who have privileged information.• It is a textbook for the study of dramatic irony in all its forms.• There's dramatic irony for you. 