Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

irony

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing.These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are morefrequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun British English pronunciation: irony /ˈaɪrəni/ 
Word Forms
Close
singularirony
pluralironies

Related dictionary definitions

  1. 1
    [uncountable] a form of humour in which you use words to express the opposite of what the words really mean

    ‘You’ve been so kind,’ she said, her voice heavy with irony.

    a touch/trace/hint of irony:

    His writing contains a cheerful touch of irony.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  ironyThesaurus entry for this meaning of irony
  2. 2
    [countable/uncountable] a strange, funny, or sad situation in which things happen in the opposite way to what you would expect
    tragic/bitter/cruel irony:

    By a cruel irony, General Franklin was killed at the very moment of his army’s great victory.

    the irony (of something) is that:

    The irony is that it would have been faster to have taken the back roads after all.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  ironyThesaurus entry for this meaning of irony

This is the British English definition of irony. View American English definition of irony.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

showmance

a romantic relationship between two members of the cast of a play, film or television series

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

slime

a thick, wet, unpleasant substance that covers something

Open Dictionary

human-readable

able to be read and understood by people

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog