two separate and contrasting levels of meaning embedded in one message

an implied discrepancy between the actual event or statement and what is meant.

A figure of speech in which intent and actual meaning differ, characteristically praise for blame or blame for praise; a pattern of words that turns away from direct statement of its own obvious meaning. The term irony implies a discrepancy. In verbal irony (saying the opposite of what one means), the discrepancy is between statement and meaning. Sometimes, irony may simply understate, as in "Men have died from time to time . . ." when Mr. Bennet, who loathes Wickham, says he is perhaps his "favorite" son-in-law, he is using irony.

9,10,11,12 The recognition of the difference between reality and appearance; includes situational irony in which there is a contrast between what is intended or expected and what actually occurs; verbal irony in which there is a contrast between what is said and what is actually meant; and dramatic irony in which words or actions are understood by the audience but not by characters.

When the opposite of what you expect happens, or when you say the opposite of what you mean, usually for humorous effect (as opposed to sarcasm).

The mythos (sense 2) of the literature concerned primarily with a "realistic" level of experience, usually taking the form of a parody or contrasting analogue to romance. Such irony may be tragic or comic in its main emphasis; when comic it is normally identical with the usual meaning of satire.

a contrast between what is said and what is meant, or between what is intended and what is actually accomplished.

Irony is the general term for literary techniques that portray differences between appearances and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention.

A term referring to the recognition of a reality different from its appearance with a root sense of dissembling or hiding what is actually the case, not necessarily to deceive, but to attain certain rhetorical or special effects. See "Romantic Irony."

n. a way of being amusing or sarcastic by saying exactly the opposite of what one means.

A deliberate inconsistency between what is stated and what is meant. Irony can be verbal or situational.

a manner of speaking that implies a discrepancy

When things appear to be one way but are actually the complete opposite. The use of words to convey the opposite of their meaning. The incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs. eg. "I loved that dog. I'm so glad its dead." WARNING: Do not discuss irony unless you are absolutely sure you know how.

(dramatic, SG 155-157)

witty language used to convey insults or scorn; "he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"; "irony is wasted on the stupid"; "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own"--Johathan Swift

incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs; "the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated"

a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs

an incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and their expected results

1a. The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. b. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning. c. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect.

To say something that is the opposite of the truth. EXAMPLE: Driving home in your brand new car and crashing.

hiding what is actually reality in order to obtain a desired oratorical or artistic effect; a favorite technique for London's social commentary.

The contrast between expectation and reality. This incongruity has the effect of surprising the reader or viewer. Techniques of irony include hyperbole, understatement, and sarcasm. See Hyperbole

Language that tends to contradict the meaning; ill-timed arrival of a desired event; when the reader is aware of something that is hidden to a character.

techniques that involve surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions

A device use in writing and speech to deliberately express ideas so they can be understood in two ways. In drama, irony occurs when a character does not know something that the other characters or the audience knows.

a statement of situation whose apparent meaning is contrary to its actual meaning or effect. The meaning indicated is contrary to the one it may seem to initially give. Irony is often difficult to find because it comes from the poet's attitude or tone.

contrast between what is expected and what actually occurs (See also verbal irony and dramatic irony.)

(Gk. eiron 'dissemble ['disguise, pretend'] in speech'; also called antiphrasis; Gk. anti 'against' + phrazein 'to speak'; ¤Ï»yªk): In general, irony is the perception of a clash between appearance and reality, between seems and is, or between ought and is. Irony falls mainly into three categories: (1) verbal: meaning something contrary to what the words seem to say; this assumes a tacit understanding between speaker and listener as regards the true situation; (2) dramatic: saying or doing something while unaware of its contrast with the whole truth, i.e. verbal irony with the speaker's awareness erased; (3) situational: events turning to the opposite of what is expected or what should be (also called circumstantial irony or the irony of fate, or cosmic irony), as when it rains on the Weather Bureau's annual picnic; the ought is upended by the is. Situational irony is the very essence of both comedy and tragedy.

Irony is a form of speech in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the words used. Irony involves the perception that things are not what they are said to be or what they seem. Dramatic irony lies in the audience's deeper perceptions of a coming fate, which contrast with a character's lack of knowledge about said fate. A common metaphor for using irony is to "have your tongue in cheek."

Mental attitude of detachment from the daily existentive events, coming from the awareness of our individual insignificance in front of the vastness of the Universe, as just to of the meanness and banality of our anxieties and worries concerning the existentivity. It confine in the banality and in the ridiculousness most part of our ambitions and expectations, which are to the base of the anxieties of psyche.

A reversal of the literal meaning of words, where there is a contrast between what is said and what is meant.

An ironic situation is one in which the real outcome of the situation is different from the intended outcome. An ironic statement is one that has a double meaning, especially where a character involved in the statement is unaware of the second meaning. For example, Dracula says to his tailor, "I'd love to have you for dinner tonight." The tailor agrees, unaware that "have you for dinner" carries significantly different connotations for Dracula than for himself. This kind of irony is sometimes called, more specifically, dramatic irony, since it depends on an observer who gets both meanings but seeing a character who gets only one.

A contrast or an incongruity between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen. Two kinds of irony are: 1) verbal irony, in which a writer or speaker says one thing and means something entirely different; and 2) dramatic irony in which a reader or audience member perceives something that a character in the story does not

A rhetorical strategy that uses language to suggest the opposite of what is actually being stated. Irony is used frequently in works of satire and works of humor.

saying [or writing] one thing, whilst meaning the opposite

In literary criticism, the effect of language in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated. The title of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is ironic because what Swift proposes in this essay is cannibalism — hardly "modest."

A meaning (often contradictory) concealed behind the apparent meaning of a word or phrase.

a method of expression in which the intended meaning of the words is the direct opposite of their usual sense. Example: "The speaker was using irony when he said that the stupid plan was ‘very clever.’" Irony can also mean a combination of circumstances or a result that is the opposite of what might be expected or considered appropriate.

a contrast between what is and what appears to be. Two types of irony are--- VERBAL IRONY when a character says one thing and means another; DRAMATIC IRONY when the audience knows something that the character does not

Words implying meaning opposite to their normal meaning, e.g. My Last Duchess Robert Browning Back to the top

A device by which a writer expresses a meaning contradictory to the stated one. There are many techniques for achieving irony. The writer may make it clear that the meaning he intends is the opposite of his literal one, or he may construct a discrepancy between an expectation and its fulfillment or between the appearance of a situation and the reality that underlies it. See Also: DRAMATIC IRONY, STRUCTURAL IRONY, VERBAL IRONY

An intentional contradiction between what something appears to mean and what it really means. Irony is normally conveyed through contradictions between either what is said and what is meant or appearance and reality. There are many forms of irony; verbal irony, the most familiar form, involves speaking words which say something quite unlike what is meant (e.g., I just love to write papers).

a situation or statement characterized by a significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant. See cosmic irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony.

is a figure of speech in which the literal, denotative meaning is the opposite of what is stated. Jargon

The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; an expression marked by such a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning; incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.

takes many forms. In irony of situation, the result of an action is the reverse of what the actor expected. In dramatic irony, the audience knows something that the characters in the drama do not. In verbal irony, the contrast is between the literal meaning of what is said and what is meant. Example: A good example of dramatic irony is when Macbeth plans Duncan's murder while feigning loyalty to the king. This is dramatic irony since while Duncan does not know of Macbeth's plans, the audience does.

occurs when the opposite of what is expected takes place.

a figure of speech in which the literal meaning of the words is the opposite of their intended meaning, as in I could care less. See also sarcasm; satire. a literary technique for implying, through plot or character, that the actual situation is quite different from that presented. adj. ironic.

A literary device that uses contradictory statements to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true.

a device where words conveying a meaning different from the apparent meaning are used, sometimes to emphasise a point or a situation. Dramatic irony occurs when an audience is given privileged information which is unknown to the relevant character(s). e.g. Spoken by a dying man who is unaware of his condition; "I think the future is a bright and beautiful time which I shall enter into with all my energies."

saying the opposite of what you mean for dramatic effect

originally a deceptive form of understatement (from the Greek eiron, a stock comic character who typically equivocated, misled his listeners, or concealed complex meanings behind seemingly simple words); hence an attribute of statements in which the meaning is different--or more complicated--than it seems. A subtle form of sarcasm, v erbal irony is a rhetorical device in which the speaker either severely understates his point or means the opposite of what he says (as when a guest politely describes a host's unimpressive wine as "nicely chilled" or a conspicuously dull person is described as "not a likely Mensa candidate." Dramatic irony arises in situations where two or more individuals have different levels of understanding or different points of view. More specifically, it occurs when the audience or certain characters in a play know something that another character does not--as when Oedipus, ignorant that he himself is the person he seeks, vows to track down Laius's killer.

Figure of speech in which the ordinary meaning of the words is more or less the opposite of what the poet intends. In his poem Don Juan, Byron makes great use of irony. Don Juan is also ironically dedicated to Robert Southey and the other Lake Poets. (Byron's irony could be called 'Byrony' - boom, boom.) Another poem employing irony is Verses on the Death of Dr Swift. In this poem, we are never quite sure whether the opinions expressed by Swift (or the other characters) are to be taken seriously or not. Philip Larkin frequently used irony in his poem titles e.g. Wild Oats ( a poem about his lack of success sexually) Vers de Société (a poem about his lack of sociability) and Aubade (a poem about death). See also Annus Mirabilis.

Irony, from the Greek εἴρων (dissimulator), is a literary or rhetorical device in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says, and what is generally understood (either at the time, or in the later context of history). Irony may also arise from a discordance between acts and results, especially if it is striking, and known to a later audience. A certain kind of irony may result from the act of pursuing a desired outcome, resulting in the opposite effect, but again, only if this is known to a third party.