ironici‧ron‧ic /aɪˈrɒnɪk $ aɪˈrɑː-/ ●○○ (also i‧ron‧i‧cal /-ɪkəl/) adjective 
Your car was stolen at the police station! How ironic! It’s ironic that her husband smoked for thirty years, and yet she’s the one who died of lung cancer. In an ironic twist, the most trustworthy character in the film turned out to be the thief.2using words that are the opposite of what you really mean, often in a joking way: ironic comments When I told Lucy I loved her book, she thought I was being ironic. → sarcastic
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- "I've heard that Dan's really upset about the divorce." "How ironic. He was always the one who was against them getting married in the first place."
- Her car was stolen from outside the police station, which is pretty ironic.
- In a strange and ironic way, many Americans profited from the war.
- It's ironic that professional athletes are often such unhealthy people.
- It's ironic that the most important people in the country often have so little understanding of how ordinary people live.
- It was an ironic situation, the two men in her life meeting like that.
- One of the study's ironic discoveries is that TV trials educate the public about the justice system better than actual trials.
- Auster leaned back on the sofa, smiled with a certain ironic pleasure, and lit a cigarette.
- Dara does most of the talking, in her histrionic, italicized, ironic way.
- His photographs are complex and sometimes ironic.
- In fact, it accentuates the lavishly comic-book style and ironic wit of the whole film.
- No one he knew had figured out how he could drink this way, with ironic restraint.
- The dying planet has a metaphysical relationship to my own mortality and to that extent my inquiry into landscape is inherently ironic.
- The tone is that of the narrator, ironic and sad - yet the novel does contain some successful humour.
- This situation has many ironic effects.
Longman Language Activatorwhen the opposite of what is expected happens
something that is ironic is funny, but in a sad or strange way, because it is the opposite of what you would expect: · "I've heard that Dan's really upset about the divorce." "How ironic. He was always the one who was against them getting married in the first place."· It was an ironic situation, the two men in her life meeting like that.it is ironic that: · It's ironic that the most important people in the country often have so little understanding of how ordinary people live.
something that is funny, but in a sad or strange way, because it is the opposite of what you would expect: · Life is full of ironies, some hilarious, some tragic.irony of: · The irony of the situation was obvious -- if I told the truth, nobody would believe me!the irony is that: · The irony is that some of the poorest countries have the richest natural resources.
strange situations, experiences, smells, tastes etc very different from what you expect or from what usually happens, in a way that makes you feel a little frightened or surprised: · A strange noise woke her up.· I had a strange feeling that I'd been there before.· Amanda's eyes glowed in a strange way, like a cat's.· He seemed to know lots of things about me, but the strange thing is I didn't even tell him my name.it is strange that: · It's strange that you've never met him - he lives in your street.
also odd especially British something funny or odd is a little strange and it makes you feel slightly worried or surprised because you cannot explain it or you do not know what it is: · There's a funny smell coming from the fridge.· Thumps and laughter and odd noises were coming out of the living room.it is funny/odd that: · It seems odd that no one noticed him coming in.· It's funny that he managed to hit the ball because he never hits it in practice.that's funny/that's odd spoken: · "Your keys aren't here." "That's funny - I'm sure I left them on the table."
strange and slightly unpleasant: · This meat tastes peculiar.· I've been having very peculiar dreams the past few weeks.· I heard a peculiar warbling from the living room.
use this about something that people know very little about and that is difficult to explain or understand: · No one could offer an explanation for his mysterious disappearance.· I kept getting mysterious phone calls where the caller would hang up as soon as I answered.under mysterious circumstances: · Two weeks later, the shop burned to the ground under mysterious circumstances.
a weird experience, feeling, sight, or sound is strange and very different from what you are used to: · She only had lipstick on her bottom lip which looked pretty weird.· It's a weird feeling to go back to a place that you lived in a long time ago.
extremely strange, and very different from what is generally considered to be normal, especially in a frightening or slightly worrying way: · Woods disappeared in very bizarre circumstances, and no trace of him has ever been found.· It was bizarre - if we took longer than five minutes in the bathroom, we had to explain why to our manager.
strange and frightening: · An eerie howl filled the cave.· I had the eerie feeling that somebody was watching me.· The pumps were shut off now. It was eerie, being in the factory without their sound.
extremely strange, because nothing seems connected with real life or normal experiences, and things happen or appear together that do not belong together: · Living on the commune turned out to be a surreal experience.· The whole trial and the media circus surrounding it was surreal.
strange and surprising but interesting, so that you want to know more about it: · Life in the village was a curious combination of the old and the very new.· He had come to some curious arrangement with his landlady.
an ironic situation seems strange and amusing, because something happens that you would not expect at all: · Her car was stolen from outside the police station, which is pretty ironic.· One of the study's ironic discoveries is that TV trials educate the public about the justice system better than actual trials.it is ironic that: · It's ironic that professional athletes are often such unhealthy people.
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COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY It’s ironic that her husband smoked for thirty years, and yet she’s the one who died of lung cancer. In an ironic twist, the most trustworthy character in the film turned out to be the thief.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
1an ironic situation is one that is unusual or amusing because something strange happens, or the opposite of what is expected happens or is true: It’s ironic that her husband smoked for thirty years, and yet she’s the one who died of lung cancer. In an ironic twist, the most trustworthy character in the film turned out to be the thief.· Or is it just that Health comes under the national budget but religion is considered to be propaganda? How ironic.· Now they can be. How ironic.· She was a wonderful teacher, belonging to a now-vanished age, an uncertificated teacher. How ironic!
· This is particularly ironic given that at least three people were hospitalised after taking Ketamine at the same venue.· It is particularly ironic in view of another key policy initiative, welfare to work.
· It is perhaps ironic that the fish may die cured!
· This is somewhat ironic when it is realized that local government has substantial resources that can not be used because of centrally-imposed prescriptions.· His somewhat ironic closing aside, the process Dave described closely resembles the high-performance model outlined in the figure on page 168.· And this would be somewhat ironic given the definition of social psychology with which we started this discussion.· Hsu admits that it is somewhat ironic that technology designed to help democratise the internet is also allowing the spooks to spy.· It seems somewhat ironic that shorts have become the training ground for features.
NOUN· Her ironic smile and quizzically raised eyebrows excluded the rest of the dead people.· He smiled that ironic smile of his that always made me feel so foolish.· A faint, ironic smile touched her lips.· I must have become immune to tear gas, she repeated, with an ironic smile.· He's at least five years younger than her and he has an ironic smile as elusive as hers is guileless.· He had a good ironic smile when he smiled, which was very infrequently.· Kirov could not repress a slightly bitter, ironic smile as he thought about it.· Despite the turmoil within her a small ironic smile lifted the corners of her mouth.
· The comedy of reassurance, still, but with a self-conscious, ironic twist that Bruce Forsyth would never have dreamed of.· And in an ironic twist, the Author is played by the same actor as the old farmer.· I know the Story of her Life - each ironic twist.· While all of the separates bore the requisite logos, they also had a sense of humor or ironic twists.· In an ironic twist, this time humans will tackle an 8K run or 2-mile walk.
Your car was stolen at the police station! How ironic! It’s ironic that her husband smoked for thirty years, and yet she’s the one who died of lung cancer. In an ironic twist, the most trustworthy character in the film turned out to be the thief.2using words that are the opposite of what you really mean, often in a joking way: ironic comments When I told Lucy I loved her book, she thought I was being ironic. → sarcastic