Ironic
//aɪˈɹɒn.ɪk// adj
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.
"It's somewhat ironic to have a wave of smog right on Earth Day."
- 2 Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.; Odd or coincidental; strange. proscribed
"It's ironic that we are eating a sandwich in Sandwich, Massachusetts."
- 3 Acting in an unserious and teasing manner.
"Don't take it personally. We're just being ironic."
- 4 Done in an insincere and mocking manner; satirical. usually
"You should assume that everything this guy posts is ironic."
Adjective
- 1 characterized by often poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually is wordnet
- 2 humorously sarcastic or mocking wordnet
Example
More examples""Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is quite a long word, isn't it?" "Yes, but do you know what it means?" "Actually, I don't." "It means fear of long words." "How ironic.""
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin īrōnicus, from Ancient Greek εἰρωνικός (eirōnikós). Compare Middle French, ironique, equivalent to irony + -ic.
Related phrases
More for "ironic"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.