ironic

See also: irònic

English

Alternative forms

• ironick (obsolete, rare)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French ironique, from Late Latin īrōnicus, from Ancient Greek εἰρωνικός (eirōnikós).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɪˈɹɒn.ɪk/

  • Audio (GB):

    (file)

• Audio (Mid-Atlantic):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒnɪk

Adjective

ironic (comparative more ironic, superlative most ironic)

1. (Of a situation) Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.

   It's somewhat ironic to have a wave of smog right on Earth Day.

   • 2014, Steven Pinker, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century!, p.275

     It was ironic I forgot my textbook on human memory.

   1. (proscribed) Odd or coincidental; strange.

      It's ironic that we are eating a sandwich in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

2. (preceded with "being") Acting in a unserious and teasing manner.

   Don't take it personally. We're just being ironic.

3. (Of a statement, action, etc.) Done in an insincere and mocking manner; satirical.

   You should assume that everything this guy posts is ironic.

Usage notes

Some writers complain about an overuse of the word ironic to extend to situations which are remarkable for reasons other than irony - perhaps just coincidental or merely odd.

Synonyms

• ironical

Derived terms

Derived terms

• dramatic irony
• ironical

• postironic
• Socratic irony

Translations

characterized by irony

• Bulgarian: ироничен (bg) (ironičen), подигравателен (bg) (podigravatelen)
• Catalan: irònic (ca)
• Czech: ironický (cs)
• Danish: ironisk
• Dutch: ironisch (nl)
• Esperanto: ironia (eo)
• Finnish: ironinen (fi)
• French: ironique (fr)
• German: ironisch (de)
• Greek: ειρωνικός (el) (eironikós)
• Hebrew: אִירוֹנִי m (iróni)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: ironico (it), sarcastico (it)
• Japanese: 風刺的な (fūshi-teki na)
• Latin: ironicus
• Occitan: ironic (oc)
• Polish: ironiczny (pl)
• Portuguese: irónico (pt) (Portugal), irônico (pt) (Brazil)
• Romanian: ironic (ro)
• Russian: ирони́ческий (ru) (ironíčeskij), ирони́чный (ru) (ironíčnyj)
• Slovak: ironický
• Spanish: irónico (es)
• Swedish: ironisk (sv)

See also

• Irony on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Cirino, oniric

---

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French ironique, from Late Latin īrōnicus, from Ancient Greek εἰρωνικός (eirōnikós).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [iˈro.nik]

Adjective

ironic m or n (feminine singular ironică, masculine plural ironici, feminine and neuter plural ironice)

1. ironic

Declension

Declension of ironic

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	ironic		ironică	ironici	ironice
	definite	ironicul		ironica	ironicii	ironicele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	ironic		ironice	ironici	ironice
	definite	ironicului		ironicei	ironicelor	ironicilor

Related terms

• ironie