irony

This page is about the noun "irony", which can be both countable and uncountable

irony → uncountable

Meaning: humour in which someone says the opposite of what they really mean

Example sentence: She looked really sick, and she said, with a smile and much irony, "I've never felt better in my life."

irony → countable

Meaning: an event or situation that involves a contradiction of some sort

Example sentence: One of life's little ironies is that the more we worry about our own happiness, the less happy we are.

Quick Quiz:

In which sentence is the word "irony" uncountable?

a. By a cruel irony, just after I'd bought a new car, the police found my stolen one.

b. We knew he hadn't meant it literally because he'd said it with a lot of irony.

Contributor: Matt Errey