Meanings
comparative more ironical · superlative most ironical
- Characterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony.
“So, ultimately, I realized I have been completely ruining my life and my face. What is ironical is that I was only doing this to make myself look better for my wife Marwa. This was for her, not for me.”
2022 August 9, Ayo Edebiri & Shana Gohd, “Private School” (22:02 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 4, episode 5, spoken by Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak) - Given to the use of irony; sarcastic.
His tone was cold and ironical; its bitterness but reflecting the terrible disappointment he had suffered.
1913 January–May, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Gods of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter III, in The Gods of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., September 1918, →OCLC, page 40 - obsoleteFeigning ignorance; simulating lack of instruction or knowledge; exhibiting Socratic irony.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivecharacterized by often poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually is
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From ironic + -al. Attested since the 1570s.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German ironisch, ironisch
- ironischcharacterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony
- ironischgiven to the use of irony, sarcasm
Japanese 皮肉好きな
- 皮肉好きな (hiniku-zuki na)given to the use of irony, sarcasm
Slovak ironický, ironický
- ironickýcharacterized by or constituting (any kind of) irony
- ironickýgiven to the use of irony, sarcasm
Cite this entry
ironical. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ironical
“ironical.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ironical. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ironical,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ironical.
Source: ironical on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.