The most commonly misused word in the English language is "ironic."
Irony is often confused with sarcasm, coincidence, paradox or oxymoron.
● Irony
It is used when something is true despite all the facts that would not expect it to be true or vice versa. There are many forms of irony like situational irony, cosmic irony, dramatic irony etc.
- The name of Britain’s biggest dog was 'Tiny'.
- He laughed at a person who slipped stepping on a banana peel and the next thing he knew, he too slipped.
● Sarcasm
It is the use of remarks that clearly mean the opposite of what they say, made in order to hurt someone's feelings or to criticize something in a humorous way.
Neighbour: Oh, you're painting your fence today?
Random: No, I'm milking cows on Jupiter, while drinking light soda and driving.
Neighbour: Was that sarcasm?
Random: Now, why would you think that?
● Coincidence
It is an occasion when two or more similar things happen at the same time, especially in a way that is unlikely or surprising.
- I'm going to Boston this weekend.
- What a coincidence! I am too.
● Paradox
It is a statement that contradicts itself.
For example, the statement 'I always lie' is a paradox, because if it is true it must be false!
- Only the man who has known fear can be truly brave.
- Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.
● Oxymoron
Oxymorons are such pairs of words, used together, which are in a way opposite to each other. Some examples:
- deafening silence
- a little big
You can notice how these pairs involve words that individually imply the opposite of each other.
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