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Irony vs Mock - What's the difference?

irony | mock |

As nouns the difference between irony and mock

is that irony is 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 while mock is an imitation, usually of lesser quality.

As adjectives the difference between irony and mock

is that irony is of or pertaining to the metal iron while mock is imitation, not genuine; fake.

As a verb mock is

to mimic, to simulate.

irony

English

(wikipedia irony)

Etymology 1

First attested in 1502. From (etyl) ironie, from (etyl), from (etyl) .

Noun

  • 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.
  • Dramatic 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.
  • Ignorance feigned]] for the purpose of confounding or [[provoke, provoking an antagonist; Socratic irony.
  • {{cite news
    • , date=2008-06-30 , title=Isn’t It Ironic? Probably Not , first=Bob , last=Harris , newspaper=The New York Times citation , accessdate=2011-01-06 }} ironic], [[w:TheFreeDictionary.com, TheFreeDictionary.com], accessed 4 November 2011: The words ironic'', ''irony'', and ''ironically'' are sometimes used of events and circumstances that might better be described as simply "coincidental" or "improbable," in that they suggest no particular lessons about human vanity or folly. Thus 78 percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use of ironically in the sentence ''In 1969 Susie moved from Ithaca to California where she met her husband-to-be, who, ironically, also came from upstate New York''. Some Panelists noted that this particular usage might be acceptable if Susie had in fact moved to California in order to find a husband, in which case the story could be taken as exemplifying the folly of supposing that we can know what fate has in store for us. By contrast, 73 percent accepted the sentence ''Ironically, even as the government was fulminating against American policy, American jeans and videocassettes were the hottest items in the stalls of the market , where the incongruity can be seen as an example of human inconsistency. Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.
    Usage notes
    * Some authorities omit the last sense, "contradiction of circumstances and expectations, condition contrary to what might be expected", however it has been in common use since the 1600s. irony, Online Etymology Dictionary
    Derived terms
    * dramatic irony * irony mark * ironic * ironical * ironist * Socratic irony
    Related terms
    * ironically
    References

    Etymology 2

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Of or pertaining to the metal iron.
    • The food had an irony taste to it.
    Synonyms
    * ferric * ferrous

    mock

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l) (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An imitation, usually of lesser quality.
    • (Crashaw)
  • Mockery, the act of mocking.
  • * Bible, Proverbs xiv. 9
    • Fools make a mock at sin.
  • A practice exam set by an educating institution to prepare students for an important exam.
    • He got a B in his History mock , but improved to an A in the exam.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To mimic, to simulate.
  • * Shakespeare
    • To see the life as lively mocked' as ever / Still sleep ' mocked death.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Mocking marriage with a dame of France.
  • To make fun of by mimicking, to taunt.
  • * Bible, 1 Kings xviii. 27
    • Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud.
  • * Gray
    • Let not ambition mock their useful toil.
  • To tantalise, and disappoint (the hopes of).
  • * Bible, Judges xvi. 13
    • Thou hast mocked me, and told me lies.
  • * 1597 , William Shakespeare, Henry IV , Part II, Act V, Scene III:
    • And with his spirit sadly I survive, / to mock the expectations of the world; / to frustrate prophecies, and to raze out / rotten opinion
  • * 1603 , William Shakespeare, Othello , Act III, Scene III:
    • "It is the greene-ey'd Monster, which doth mocke / The meate it feeds on."
  • * 1667 , John Milton, Paradise Lost :
    • Why do I overlive? / Why am I mocked with death, and lengthened out / to deathless pain?
  • * Milton
    • He will not / Mock us with his blest sight, then snatch him hence.
  • * 1765 , Benjamin Heath, A revisal of Shakespear's text , page 563 (a commentary on the "mocke the meate" line from Othello):
    • ‘Mock’ certainly never signifies to loath. Its common signification is, to disappoint.
  • * 1812 , The Critical Review or, Annals of Literature , page 190:
    • The French revolution indeed is a prodigy which has mocked the expectations both of its friends and its foes. It has cruelly disappointed the fondest hopes of the first, nor has it observed that course which the last thought that it would have pursued.

    Synonyms

    * See also * See also

    See also

    * jeer

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Imitation, not genuine; fake.