Define "Irony"

Mountebank

2012-01-01T17:08:00.001-08:00

1. A person who deceives others, esp. in order to trick them out of their money; a charlatan.
2. A person who sold patent medicines in public places.

Theriomorphic

2011-11-19T03:35:00.001-08:00

Having an animal form

Uxoricide

2011-11-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

1. The killing of a wife by her husband
2. A man who kills his wife

Fungible

2011-09-21T13:29:00.001-07:00

adj- Interchangeable

Fubsy

2011-08-06T03:03:00.000-07:00

adj.
- chubby and somewhat squat

Hornswoggled

2011-06-02T06:26:00.001-07:00

1. Bamboozled

2. Duped

Tergiversate

2011-05-22T17:17:00.001-07:00

–verb (used without object), -sat·ed, -sat·ing.

to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.

to turn renegade.

Pedant

2011-05-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

One who pays undue attention to book learning and formal rules.
One who exhibits one's learning or scholarship ostentatiously.
A person who relies too much on academic learning or who is concerned chiefly with insignificant detail.

De Novo

2011-04-14T23:08:00.000-07:00

Latin expression meaning "beginning anew", "afresh".

bildungsroman

2011-04-14T22:49:00.001-07:00

A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a usually youthful main character.

Sisyphean

2011-04-14T22:48:00.001-07:00

1. of or pertaining to Sisyphus.
2. endless and unavailing, as labor or a task.

Prevaricate

2007-07-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

To depart from or evade the truth; to speak with equivocation.

Theodicy

2007-06-27T20:03:00.002-07:00

A vindication of God's goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil.

A specific branch of theology and philosophy that attempts to reconcile the existence of evil or suffering in the world with the assumption of a benevolent God —ie. the problem of evil. An attempt to reconcile the co-existence of evil and God may thus be called "a theodicy".

Weltschmerz

2007-06-27T20:03:00.001-07:00

Sadness over the evils of the world, especially as an expression of romantic pessimism.

Circumlocution

2007-06-26T11:39:00.001-07:00

1. The use of unnecessarily wordy and indirect language.
2. Evasion in speech or writing.
3. A roundabout expression.

Sprachgefuhl

2007-05-06T02:04:00.001-07:00

An intuitive sense of what is linguistically appropriate

Indigence

2007-02-13T12:14:00.000-08:00

A state of extreme poverty or destitution.

Cachinnate

2007-02-08T00:32:00.000-08:00

To laugh loudly or immoderately.

Fimbriate

2007-02-08T00:30:00.000-08:00

Having fimbriae; fringed, as the edge of a petal or the opening of a duct.

Conduce

2007-02-08T00:27:00.000-08:00

To lead or contribute to a result (usually fol. by to or toward): qualities that conduce to success.

Frigate

2007-02-08T00:24:00.000-08:00

(1) A warship, usually of 4,000 to 9,000 displacement tons, that is larger than a destroyer and smaller than a cruiser, used primarily for escort duty.
(2) A high-speed, medium-sized sailing war vessel of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
(3) Archaic. A fast, light vessel, such as a sailboat.

Low

2007-02-08T00:22:00.000-08:00

The characteristic sound uttered by cattle; a moo.

Disconsolate

2007-02-08T00:20:00.000-08:00

(1) without consolation or solace; hopelessly unhappy; inconsolable: Loss of her pet dog made her disconsolate.
(2) characterized by or causing dejection; cheerless; gloomy: disconsolate prospects.

Coprophilous

2007-02-08T00:17:00.000-08:00

Living or growing on dung, as certain fungi

Chamfer

2007-02-08T00:16:00.000-08:00

(1) To cut off the edge or corner of; bevel.
(2) To cut a groove in; flute.

Countersunk

2007-02-08T00:14:00.001-08:00

(1) to enlarge the upper part of (a cavity), esp. by chamfering, to receive the cone-shaped head of a screw, bolt, etc.
(2) to cause (the head of a screw, bolt, etc.) to sink into a prepared depression so as to be flush with or below the surface.

Suet

2007-02-08T00:14:00.000-08:00

the hard fatty tissue about the loins and kidneys of beef, sheep, etc., used in cooking or processed to yield tallow.

Spatulate

2007-02-08T00:13:00.000-08:00

(1) shaped like a spatula; rounded more or less like a spoon.
(2) Botany. having a broad, rounded end and a narrow, attenuate base, as a leaf.

Recalcitrant

2007-02-08T00:10:00.000-08:00

(1) resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory.
(2) hard to deal with, manage, or operate.

Vulnerary

2007-02-08T00:06:00.000-08:00

(1) adj - used to promote the healing of wounds, as herbs or other remedies.
(2) noun - a remedy for wounds.

Apparition

2007-02-08T00:04:00.000-08:00

(1) A ghostly figure; a specter.
(2) A sudden or unusual sight: "[The designer's] indoor-outdoor reversals and juxtapositions call forth a Magritte apparition beneath a Miami moon" (Herbert Muschamp).
(3) The act of appearing; appearance.

Cadence

2007-02-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

(1) rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words: the cadence of language.
(2) (in free verse) a rhythmic pattern that is nonmetrically structured.
(3) the beat, rate, or measure of any rhythmic movement: The chorus line danced in rapid cadence.
(4) the flow or rhythm of events, esp. the pattern in which something is experienced: the frenetic cadence of modern life.
(5) a slight falling in pitch of the voice in speaking or reading, as at the end of a declarative sentence.
(6) the general modulation of the voice.
(7) Music. a sequence of notes or chords that indicates the momentary or complete end of a composition, section, phrase, etc.
–verb (used with object)
(8) to make rhythmical.

Dervish

2007-01-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

(1) A member of any of various Muslim ascetic orders, some of which perform whirling dances and vigorous chanting as acts of ecstatic devotion.
(2) One that possesses abundant, often frenzied energy.

Legerdemain

2006-10-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

(1) Sleight of hand.
(2) A display of skill, trickery, or artful deception.

Farinaceous

2006-08-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

(1) Made from, rich in, or consisting of starch.
(2) Having a mealy or powdery texture.

Persiflage

2006-08-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

(1) Light good-natured talk; banter.
(2) Light or frivolous manner of discussing a subject.

Pogrom

2006-07-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

An organized, often officially encouraged massacre or persecution of a minority group

Animus

2006-07-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

(1) An attitude that informs one's actions; disposition.
(2) A feeling of animosity; ill will. See Synonyms at enmity.
(3) In Jungian psychology, the masculine inner personality as present in women.

Daguerreotype

2006-07-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

(1) An early photographic process with the image made on a light-sensitive silver-coated metallic plate.
(2) A photograph made by this process.

Ouevre

2006-07-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

(1) A work of art.
(2) The sum of the lifework of an artist, writer, or composer.

Plenitude

2006-06-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

(1) An ample amount or quantity; an abundance: a region blessed with a plenitude of natural resources.

(2)The condition of being full, ample, or complete.

Wisenheimer

2006-06-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

(1) wise guy, smart aleck
(2) an upstart who makes conceited, sardonic, insolent comments

Inamorata

2006-05-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

a woman with whom one is in love or has intimate relations

Oneiric

2006-04-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Of, relating to, or suggestive of dreams.

Panegyric

2006-01-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

(1) A formal eulogistic composition intended as a public compliment.
(2) Elaborate praise or laudation; an encomium.

Vassal

2006-01-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

1. A person who held land from a feudal lord and received protection in return for homage and allegiance.
2. A bondman; a slave.
3. A subordinate or dependent.

Internecine

2005-12-01T03:49:00.000-08:00

(1) Of, or relating to, conflict within a nation, an organization, or a group.
(2) Mutually destructive; involving, or accompanied by, mutual slaughter.
(3) Deadly; destructive; marked by slaughter.

Inculcate

2005-08-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

To impress (something) upon the mind of another by frequent instruction or repetition; instill: inculcating sound principles.

Prestidigitation

2005-08-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

(1) Performance of or skill in performing magic or conjuring tricks with the hands; sleight of hand.
(2) A show of skill or deceitful cleverness.

Sibyl

2005-08-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

(1) any of several prophetesses usually accepted as 10 in number and credited to widely separate parts of the ancient world (as Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, and Italy)
(2a) a female prophet
(2b) fortune teller

Pleonasm

2005-08-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

The use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense. Example: the man he said.

Paroxysm

2005-08-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

(1) A sudden outburst of emotion or action: a paroxysm of laughter.
(2a) A sudden attack, recurrence, or intensification of a disease.
(2b) A spasm or fit; a convulsion.

Bonhomie

2005-08-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

A pleasant and affable disposition; geniality.

Gorp

2005-08-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

A mixture of high-energy foods, such as nuts and dried fruit, eaten as a snack. Synonym: trail mix

Reticule

2005-08-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

A drawstring purse or handbag. Also reticle.

Glissando

2005-08-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

A rapid slide through a series of consecutive tones in a scalelike passage.

Cantilever

2005-08-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

(1) A projecting structure, such as a beam, that is supported at one end and carries a load at the other end or along its length.
(2) A member, such as a beam, that projects beyond a fulcrum and is supported by a balancing member or a downward force behind the fulcrum.

Harridan

2005-08-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

A woman regarded as scolding and vicious.

Sanguinary

2005-08-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

(1) Accompanied by bloodshed.
(2) Eager for bloodshed; bloodthirsty.
(3) Consisting of blood.

Sundry

2005-07-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

adj
consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds (even to the point of incongruity)

n
article too small or numerous to be specified; miscellaneous item

Miasma

2005-07-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

(1) A noxious atmosphere or influence: "The family affection, the family expectations, seemed to permeate the atmosphere... like a coiling miasma."

(2a) A poisonous atmosphere formerly thought to rise from swamps and putrid matter and cause disease.
(2b) A thick vaporous atmosphere or emanation: wreathed in a miasma of cigarette smoke.

Mawkish

2005-07-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

(1) Excessively and objectionably sentimental.
(2) Sickening or insipid in taste.

Repose

2005-07-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

n.
(1) The act of resting or the state of being at rest.
(2) Freedom from worry; peace of mind.
(3) Calmness; tranquillity.

v.
(1) To place (trust, for example): reposed all his hopes in the new cure.
(2) To lay (oneself) down.
(3) To rest or relax (oneself).

August

2005-07-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

(1) Inspiring awe or admiration; majestic: the august presence of the monarch.
(2) Venerable for reasons of age or high rank.

Pulchritudinous

2005-07-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Characterized by or having great physical beauty and appeal.

Incipient

2005-07-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Beginning to exist or appear: detecting incipient tumors; an incipient personnel problem.

Frisson

2005-07-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

A moment of intense excitement; a shudder: The story's ending arouses a frisson of terror.

Higgledy-Piggledy

2005-06-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

(1) In utter disorder or confusion: “There is something delightfully and liberatingly ludicrous about parading higgledy-piggledy in a line of walkers of all shapes and sizes”
(2) Topsy-turvy; jumbled.

Zeitgeist

2005-06-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

The taste, outlook, and spirit characteristic of a period or generation.

Panoply

2005-06-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

(1) A splendid or striking array: a panoply of colorful flags.
(2) Ceremonial attire with all accessories: a portrait of the general in full panoply.
(3) Something that covers and protects: a porcupine's panoply of quills.
(4) The complete arms and armor of a warrior.

Draconian

2005-06-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

Exceedingly harsh; very severe: a draconian legal code; draconian budget cuts.

[From the name Draco, an Athenian politician who codified the laws of Athens (c. 621). Lauded for its impartiality, his code was unpopular for its severity.]

Jamais vu

2005-06-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

The experience of being unfamiliar with a person or situation that is actually very familiar. Antonym: deja vu

Fait accompli

2005-06-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

An accomplished, presumably irreversible deed or fact.

Grok

2005-06-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

To understand profoundly through intuition or empathy.

Logy

2005-06-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

Characterized by lethargy; sluggish.

Highfalutin

2005-05-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

Pompous or pretentious: “highfalutin reasons for denying direct federal assistance to the unemployed”

Parabulia

2005-05-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Abnormality of volition or will, as when one impulse is checked and replaced by another.

Simulacrum

2005-05-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

(1) An image or representation.
(2) An unreal or vague semblance.

Spoonerism

2005-05-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.

Some examples:
-- The Lord is a shoving leopard ["loving shepherd"].
-- It is kisstomary to cuss ["customary to kiss"] the bride.
-- Is the bean dizzy ["dean busy"]?
-- Let me sew you to your sheet ["show you to your seat"].

Osculate

2005-05-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

(1) To kiss.
(2) Mathematics. To have three or more points coincident with.
(3) To come together; contact.

Complicit

2005-05-02T01:18:00.000-07:00

Associated with or participating in a questionable act or a crime; having complicity: newspapers complicit with the propaganda arm of a dictatorship.

Miscegenation

2005-04-16T23:39:00.000-07:00

(1) The interbreeding of different races or of persons of different racial backgrounds.
(2) Cohabitation, sexual relations, or marriage involving persons of different races.
(3) A mixture or hybridization: “There was musical miscegenation at a time when segregation was the common rule”

Chiaroscuro

2005-04-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

(1) The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation.
(2) The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art.
(3a) A woodcut technique in which several blocks are used to print different shades of a color.
(3b) A woodcut print made by this technique.

ad hominem

2005-04-04T12:59:00.000-07:00

Appealing to personal considerations rather than to logic or reason: Debaters should avoid ad hominem arguments that question their opponents' motives.

Stultifying

2005-03-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

(1) To render useless or ineffectual; cripple.
(2) To cause to appear stupid, inconsistent, or ridiculous.
(3) Law. To allege or prove insane and so not legally responsible.

Atavism

2005-02-08T23:09:00.000-08:00

(1) The reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes.
(2) An individual or a part that exhibits atavism. Also called throwback.
(3) The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.

Seriatim

2005-01-10T16:58:00.000-08:00

One after another; in a series.

Appurtenance

2005-01-09T01:37:00.000-08:00

(1) Something added to another, more important thing; an appendage. See Synonyms at appendage.
(2) Equipment, such as clothing, tools, or instruments, used for a specific purpose or task; gear.
(3) Law. A right, privilege, or property that is considered incident to the principal property for purposes such as passage of title, conveyance, or inheritance.

Molder

2005-01-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

To crumble to dust; disintegrate.

Bilious

2005-01-01T15:42:00.000-08:00

(1) Of, relating to, or containing bile; biliary.
(2a) Characterized by an excess secretion of bile.
(2b) Relating to, characterized by, or experiencing gastric distress caused by a disorder of the liver or gallbladder.
(2c) Appearing as if affected by such a disorder; sickly.
(3) Resembling bile, especially in color: a bilious green.
(4) Having a peevish disposition; ill-humored.

Augur

2004-12-31T15:33:00.000-08:00

(1) One of a group of ancient Roman religious officials who foretold events by observing and interpreting signs and omens.
(2) A seer or prophet; a soothsayer.

Baluster

2004-12-30T14:08:00.000-08:00

(1a) One of the upright, usually rounded or vase-shaped supports of a balustrade.
(1b) An upright support, such as a furniture leg, having a similar shape.
(2) One of the supporting posts of a handrail.

Lilliputian

2004-12-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

n.
A very small person or being.

adj.
(1) Very small; diminutive.
(2) Trivial; petty.

Etymology: After Lilliput, a country in Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, where everything was diminutive.

Satori

2004-12-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

A spiritual awakening sought in Zen Buddhism, often coming suddenly.

Verdigris

2004-12-24T23:58:00.000-08:00

(1) A blue or green powder consisting of basic cupric acetate used as a paint pigment and fungicide.
(2) A green patina or crust of copper sulfate or copper chloride formed on copper, brass, and bronze exposed to air or seawater for long periods of time.

Surreptitious

2004-12-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

(1) Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means.
(2) Acting with or marked by stealth.

Mephistopheles

2004-12-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

The devil in the Faust legend to whom Faust sold his soul.

Tsuris

2004-12-19T15:32:00.000-08:00

Trouble; aggravation.

Schadenfreude

2004-11-24T14:22:00.000-08:00

Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.

Mendacity

2004-11-24T13:47:00.000-08:00

(1) The condition of being mendacious; untruthfulness.
(2) A lie; a falsehood.