1 [C,U] an unusual or unexpected part of a situation, etc that seems strange or amusing 出乎意料的情况；令人啼笑皆非的事: The irony was that he was killed in a car accident soon after the end of the war. 战争结束后不久他便死于交通事故，真是造化弄人。

2 [U] a way of speaking that shows you are joking or that you mean the opposite of what you say 反话: ‘The English are such good cooks’, he said with heavy irony. 他故意挖苦说：“英国人真是烹饪能手。”