# ironic vs irony

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### ironic
*adjective · IPA /aɪˈɹɒn.ɪk/ · frequency rank #9,621*
Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.

### irony
*noun · IPA /ˈaɪə.ɹən.i/ · frequency rank #8,805*
The quality of a statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ironic-vs-irony