Irony \I"ron*y\, n.[L. ironia, Gr. ? dissimulation, fr. ? a
dissembler in speech, fr. ? to speak; perh. akin to E. word:
cf. F. ironie.]
1. Dissimulation; ignorance feigned for the purpose of
confounding or provoking an antagonist.
2. A sort of humor, ridicule, or light sarcasm, which adopts
a mode of speech the meaning of which is contrary to the
literal sense of the words.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |