irony
/ˈaɪə.ɹən.i/
"irony" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“irony” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,805 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #8,805
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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...
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) |
Where “irony” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for irony is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈaɪə.ɹən.i/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,805 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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.
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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Using “irony”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-R-O-N-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈaɪə.ɹən.i/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “ivory” - see the side-by-side comparison. irony vs ivory
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.