as in contradiction
a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what is expected
We got a good chuckle seeing their tow truck being towed away, but our friends failed to see the irony.
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of irony
But also, oh the irony, with the Cavaliers trading Wiggins’ draft rights upon LeBron’s Cleveland return, in order to add Kevin Love.
—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
28 June 2026
The irony Wilson surfaces is sharp.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
28 June 2026
The Lorimer Burst and others like it are now called Fast Radio Bursts, and adding to the irony, astronomers are still trying to nail down their origins today.
—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
26 June 2026
There’s a strange irony—though, perhaps, little surprise—that this is how the bombastic Tory politico is now spending his time.
—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for irony
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
28 June 2026
The irony Wilson surfaces is sharp.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
28 June 2026
The Lorimer Burst and others like it are now called Fast Radio Bursts, and adding to the irony, astronomers are still trying to nail down their origins today.
—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
26 June 2026
There’s a strange irony—though, perhaps, little surprise—that this is how the bombastic Tory politico is now spending his time.
—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for irony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irony
Noun
-
Some artists have eras, experimental phases, detours, creative dalliances; Arthur Russell’s career, for all its seeming contradictions—classical minimalism and lascivious disco, Zen Buddhist mantras and winsome country pop—was a continuum.
-
Vance and Rubio have taken steps to minimize mixing the messages, with Rubio publicly dismissing any suggestion that there is a contradiction in their efforts.
Noun
-
But the amusement didn’t last long.
-
The fallout of that inquiry—to which Joe and Angela gamely acquiesce—generates its share of laughs, though our amusement comes at a cost.
Noun
-
The comparison trap and paradox of tools Our study looked at several forces that drive this burnout.
-
Here is what the paradox of choice actually is, why your closet is one of its purest examples and what to do about it.
Noun
-
Brooks also taught Wilder how to take something funny, push it all the way to the point of absurdity, then keep going.
-
The second lady is perhaps the most interesting figure in Trumpworld right now, and certainly the only one who understands the absurdity of it all.
Noun
-
Irony involves incongruity, while tragicomedy is about possible congruity—not mutual erasure but the capacity for the tragic and comic to coexist.
-
Nobody is more alive to the comic incongruity than the man himself.
Noun
-
This kind of relationship made the lives of people living in ancient times unproblematic in terms of the dichotomy between the transcendent and the space of reality.
-
The Street loves the latter model, the public loves the former, and is oblivious to the dichotomy.
Cite this Entry
“Irony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irony. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
