dramatic irony
noun
literature
: incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play : irony sense 2b
All the other doctors are knownothing quacks; that the audience has more medical knowledge than they is but one example of the dramatic irony which is a feature of Alan Bennett's brilliant script.—
Alan Geary
Alan GearyExamples of dramatic irony in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Earrings of Madame de… is a weird morality tale—heavy on dramatic irony, and EXCELLENT dresses.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 1 Aug. 2025
For older kids, Shaun is a font of humor, often playing on small-scale dramatic ironies and big broad payoffs — there’s a lot of generous slapstick, and the stakes stay pretty low.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 23 July 2025
The audience is in on the suspicion that the problems here will likely exist there, and the dramatic irony is amped up in this particular context, as Germany has been draconian in clamping down on Palestine solidarity.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 11 July 2025
Among the group is a pair of Black twins, whose professor mentions Mengele’s fixation with identical siblings, which both portends fleeting dramatic moments in the rest of the film, and also steeps this post-mortem study in dramatic irony.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dramatic irony
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Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 1 Aug. 2025
For older kids, Shaun is a font of humor, often playing on small-scale dramatic ironies and big broad payoffs — there’s a lot of generous slapstick, and the stakes stay pretty low.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 23 July 2025
The audience is in on the suspicion that the problems here will likely exist there, and the dramatic irony is amped up in this particular context, as Germany has been draconian in clamping down on Palestine solidarity.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 11 July 2025
Among the group is a pair of Black twins, whose professor mentions Mengele’s fixation with identical siblings, which both portends fleeting dramatic moments in the rest of the film, and also steeps this post-mortem study in dramatic irony.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dramatic irony
Cite this Entry
“Dramatic irony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dramatic%20irony. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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