Ironic vs Literal - What's the difference?
ironic | literal |
Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.
* 2014 , Steven Pinker The Sense of Style
Given to the use of irony; sarcastic.
Exactly as stated; read or understood without additional interpretation; according to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical.
* Hooker
Following the letter or exact words; not free; not taking liberties.
(uncommon) Consisting of, or expressed by, letters.
* Johnson
(of a person) Giving a strict or literal construction; unimaginative; matter-of-fact.
(programming) A value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.
(logic) A propositional variable or the negation of a propositional variable.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolution_%28logic%29]
As adjectives the difference between ironic and literal
is that ironic is characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony while literal is exactly as stated; read or understood without additional interpretation; according to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical.As a noun literal is
a value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.ironic
English
Alternative forms
* ironick (qualifier)Adjective
(en adjective)- It was ironic I forgot my textbook on human memory.
Synonyms
* ironicalUsage notes
Some writers complain about an overuse of the word ironic to extend to situations which are remarkable for reasons other than irony - perhaps just coincidental or merely odd.Derived terms
* ironically * dramatic irony * postironic * Socratic ironySee also
* (projectlink) ----literal
Alternative forms
* litteral (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- The literal translation is “hands full of bananas” but it means empty-handed.
- a middle course between the rigour of literal translation and the liberty of paraphrasts
- A literal reading of the law would prohibit it, but that is clearly not the intent.
- a literal equation
- The literal notation of numbers was known to Europeans before the ciphers.
