Paradoxical vs Irony - What's the difference?
paradoxical | irony |
Having self-contradictory properties.
* 1776 , (Adam Smith), , book II, ch 2
* 1898 , , , Book 2, ch 4
*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
, chapter=4 * 1933 , & Hazel Heald,
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
As adjectives the difference between paradoxical and irony
is that paradoxical is having self-contradictory properties while irony is of or pertaining to the metal iron.As a noun 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.paradoxical
English
Adjective
(-)- It is the ambiguity of language only which can make this proposition appear either doubtful or paradoxical . When properly explained and understood, it is almost self-evident.
- It sounds paradoxical , but I am inclined to think that the weakness and insanity of the curate warned me, braced me, and kept me a sane man.
citation, passage=By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.}}
- It was tightly fitted with a cap of the same substance, and bore engraved figurings of an evidently decorative and possibly symbolic nature - conventional designs which seemed to follow a peculiarly alien, paradoxical , and doubtfully describable system of geometry.
Synonyms
* (having self-contradictory properties): oxymoronic, self-contradictoryAntonyms
* (having self-contradictory properties): self-consistent, self-evidentirony
English
(wikipedia irony)Etymology 1
First attested in 1502. From (etyl) ironie, from (etyl), from (etyl) .Noun
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