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 their literal intention, often in a humorous context. An ironic statement.
An ironic statement.
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.
Of or pertaining to the metal iron.
IRONY is a 5-letter word with 2 vowels (I, O) and 3 consonants (R, N, Y). Every letter is distinct, so it rarely punishes a clean opening guess.
It leans on high-frequency letters (I, R, O, N), so a strong vowel-and-common-consonant opener tends to light up quickly. There are no rare letters here, so it is a fair, mid-difficulty answer for the daily Classic puzzle.
Across the 1,734 curated answers in the Wordocious bank, R appears in 37% of answers (the 3rd most common letter), O appears in 30% of answers (the 5th most common letter), I appears in 29% of answers (the 6th most common letter). No other answer in the bank opens with “IR-”, so locking those first two letters all but gives it away.
Difficulty: 1/5 — very approachable, because its letters are common and no close neighbors compete with it.
Words like IRONY are exactly what the daily puzzles throw at you. Warm up in Practice, race the clock in the Daily Challenge, or study the best starting words before your next run. New to the multi-board modes? The mode guides cover every mode.
Definitions adapted from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA). Letter statistics, difficulty ratings, and near-miss analysis are original Wordocious research computed from our curated answer list.
