Word for the Day! IRONY Full Definition of IRONY 1: a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the others false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning —called also Socratic irony 2: a the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b : a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c : an ironic expression or utterance 3 a (1) : incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2) : an event or result marked by such incongruity b : incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play —called also dramatic irony, tragic irony Examples of IRONY a writer known for her clever use of irony “What a beautiful view,” he said, his voice dripping with irony, as he looked out the window at the alley. She described her vacation with heavy irony as “an educational experience.” It was a tragic irony that he made himself sick by worrying so much about his health. Thats just one of lifes little ironies. The irony of the situation was apparent to everyone. He has a strong sense of irony. The great irony of human intelligence is that the only species on Earth capable of reason, complex-problem solving, long-term planning and consciousness understands so little about the organ that makes it all possible—the brain. —Amanda Bower, Time, 20 Aug. 2001
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 12:05:46 +0000
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