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Literature vocabulary · Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Irony

Meaning in literature, with examples

/ˈaɪrəni/nounCore term

In literature, irony means: A contrast between what is said and what is meant, or between what is expected and what actually happens, often used for humor or criticism.

In Turkish: ironi, istihza

How it is used

Critics distinguish three main types: verbal irony (saying the opposite of what you mean), situational irony (events turn out the opposite of what is expected) and dramatic irony (the audience knows more than the characters). Adjective: ironic; adverb: ironically.

Example sentences

  1. The irony is that the doctor who saves the whole town cannot save his own son.

  2. Many readers miss the irony in the narrator's praise of the factory owner.

Common collocations

  • dramatic irony
  • verbal irony
  • situational irony
  • a touch of irony
  • the irony is that
  • dramatic ironyA situation in which the audience or reader knows something important that a character does not, so the character's words or actions take on an extra meaning.
  • satireWriting that uses humor, irony and exaggeration to criticize or mock the foolishness or wrongdoing of people, institutions or society.
  • toneThe attitude that a writer or narrator shows toward the subject and the reader, expressed through word choice and style, such as ironic, serious or playful.
  • paradoxA statement or situation that seems self-contradictory or absurd but turns out to express a deeper truth, as in 'less is more'.

More terms: Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

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