ironically
- 1Used to draw attention to an aspect of a situation that runs opposite to what one would expect.
Ironically, the committee on openness held all its meetings behind closed doors.
The drought ended, ironically, on the very day the town declared a water emergency.
Similarparadoxically, oddly, curiously, strangely
Oppositepredictably, unsurprisingly
Note
Here the speaker passes judgment on a whole state of affairs, and nobody in the sentence needs to be acting ironically at all. It usually opens the sentence with a comma or sits between commas mid-clause, which marks it as a comment rather than a description. It suits outcomes that undo their own purpose, like a checkout system meant to save labor costs that ends up costing more than the workers it replaced.
- 2In an ironic manner, behaving or speaking in a way that displays irony.
He congratulated his rival ironically, stretching out each word of praise.
She smiled ironically when he insisted he was never once late.
Similarsarcastically, wryly, sardonically, mockingly, facetiously
Oppositesincerely, earnestly, seriously, genuinely
Note
Position decides whether this is truly the manner sense. After the verb it describes the act itself: he thanked her ironically, she smiled ironically. Before the verb, as in my colleague ironically avoids doctors like the plague, it slides toward the sentence-commenting sense, because there the avoidance is what seems ironic, not how it is done. To keep the manner meaning unmistakable, put the adverb after the verb or its object.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of ironically apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Formed from "ironic" combined with the suffix "-ally".