irony
/ˈaɪə.ɹən.i/
"irony" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“irony” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,805. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #8,805
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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 t...
Corpus desk
Index EN-irony · irony · English
irony · rank #8,805 · 7 variants · 12 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #8,805
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH inviting
Nearest frequency peer: inviting (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “irony”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- instinct
instinct
91,198 corpus weight
- inviting
inviting
91,197 corpus weight
- irony
irony
91,196 corpus weight
- Ivan
Ivan
91,195 corpus weight
- Joyce
Joyce
91,194 corpus weight
- judgement
judgement
91,193 corpus weight
What this shows “irony” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | irony |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈaɪə.ɹən.i/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #8,805 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “irony”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around irony (IPA /ˈaɪə.ɹən.i/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,805 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for irony, with forms such as "iorny", "irnoy", and "ironny". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "ivory", "ion", "iron", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1502. From Middle French ironie, from Old French, from Latin īrōnīa, from Ancient Greek εἰρωνεία (eirōneía, “irony, pretext”), from εἴρων (eírōn, “one who feigns ignorance”). The correct English form is irony, spelled I-R-O-N-Y.
Definition
- 1The 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.
- 2The 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.
- 3Dramatic irony: a theatrical effect in which the meaning of a situation, or some incongruity in the plot, is understood by the audience, but not by the characters in the play.
- 4Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist.
- 5Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how irony appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Irony, saying what it ne'er intends, Censures with praise, and speaks to foes as friends.
A principal virtue of Rorty's recognition of both the lightminded and the serious side of irony is to urge us in that direction.
Etymology
First attested in 1502. From Middle French ironie, from Old French, from Latin īrōnīa, from Ancient Greek εἰρωνεία (eirōneía, “irony, pretext”), from εἴρων (eírōn, “one who feigns ignorance”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- iorny
- irnoy
- ironny
- ironyy
- iroyn
- irrony
- riony
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of irony - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "irony", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).