From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwrywry /raɪ/ adjective [only before noun] FUNNYa wry expression or wry humour shows that you know a situation is bad, but you also think it is slightly amusing ‘Was it as bad as you expected?’ Travis gave a wry smile. —wryly adverb
Examples from the Corpus
wry• Knowing this, Googol tried to be wry about his own feelings and eschewed any dandified garb such as Jaq now sported.• Perhaps, to some extent, she thought with wry amusement, she owed her professional success to Jake.• A dash of wry cynicism might have helped another woman, but that was not Franca's way.• She relaxed and told Jay about her life, with the wry humour of a survivor.• And he retains the sense of wry humour which he reckons every newspaperman needs, if only to keep him sane.• This is a delicious comedy full of wry observations and delightful fun-poking at the world of movie-making.• Somehow, he derived a strange, wry satisfaction from this thought.• a wry smile• In spite of herself, Lisa smiled a wry smile.Origin wry (1500-1600) wry “to twist” ((14-19 centuries)), from Old English wrigian “to turn” 