ironic implies an attempt to be amusing or provocative by saying usually the opposite of what is meant.

Figurative use of language ironically (Definition of ironic from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

IRONIC definition: using words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning; containing or exemplifying irony. See examples of ironic used in a sentence.

Definition of ironic adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

If something is ironic it's unexpected, often in an amusing way. If you're the world chess champion, it would be pretty ironic if you lost a match to someone who just learned to play yesterday.

While today’s English speakers have no choice but to accept ironic as a synonym of paradoxical, incongruous, or contradictory, the word is overextended where it becomes a synonym of funny, …

If you say that it is ironic that something should happen, you mean that it is odd or amusing because it involves a contrast. I find it ironic that after all the motorbike accidents he has had, he should, in the …

ironic - Something is ironic if the result is the opposite of what was intended; an ironic event is an incongruous event, one at odds with what might have been expected.

Nov 2, 2025 · ironic (comparative more ironic, superlative most ironic) It's somewhat ironic to have a wave of smog right on Earth Day. It was ironic I forgot my textbook on human memory. Chloe had …

ironic, adj. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary