This article will provide you with a short definition for verbal irony, along with 30 + verbal irony examples with detailed explanations.
Verbal irony is a figure of speech wherein a speaker says one thing, but means something contrary to the thing they say.
Now, let’s look at some examples of how verbal irony may be used in sentences.
29+ Verbal Irony Examples in Sentences
- When Naina’s father saw her applying nail polish instead of doing her maths homework, he said, “You look like you’re working very hard. I’m sure you’ll do excellently in your exams next week.”
- When Shreya entered the classroom fifteen minutes late, her teacher said, “Ah, my most punctual student has finally arrived!”
- Rishi described Mishti’s black-and-white painting as “bursting with colour.”
- “Look how wonderful the weather is,” Kartik said while it was raining cats and dogs outside.
- I would love to spend all day trying to locate your tie, but unfortunately I have a job to do myself.
- “Everyone knows that mothers should have zero hobbies apart from their children,” Shwetha said when her mother in law chastised her for painting after coming home from work.
- I’m so glad to have made it in time to watch my team lose today’s match. Thank god I didn’t miss it!
- Thank god I have three exams this week…who needs sleep anyway?
- Yes, she’s a very kind person, apart from the fact that she wants everyone around her dead.
- Nir looked at the very small piece of chocolate his sister was offering him and said, “Wow, that’s generous of you.”
- I would kill someone if it meant that I could go to Ed Sheeran’s concert next week.
- I wanted to stab my eyes while watching that movie, it was so terrible.
- Today’s weather is the best weather Mumbai city has ever experienced.
- This view is the single most beautiful view in the world, and that’s a fact.
- I’m so hungry I could eat an entire field of rice.
- When Maya saw Latika’s new earrings, she said, “oh my god, those diamonds are the size of spaceships!”
- The mall’s new ice skating rink was so big and empty that Mishika said it looked like a white desert.
- The circumference of Dia’s wrists and ankles are the same as the circumference of an easily broken twig.
- My father tells me that he will love me even after he dies.
- “I could eat this every day of my life for eternity,” Kiara said while eating a bowl of rasam.
- When Rhea showed her results to her father, he said it was “not too good”—even though she had failed the paper.
- When Shreya asked Hritik how he was doing at his grandmother’s funeral, he said, “I’ve been better.”
- Kolkata is not the worst city in the world.
- Mahima doesn’t have the best sense of humour in the world.
- When Riya won a very competitive scholarship to study in Japan, she modestly told everyone that it was “not a big deal.”
- When Bhavesh woke up in the morning to find the entire road flooded, he said, “Looks like it was raining a bit last night.”
- When asked to describe Disneyland to her younger sister, Fatima just said that there was a castle.
- I wouldn’t recommend jumping into that lake. It’s nearly frozen at this time of the year.
- Jeh pointed at the tiger and said, “That’s a cute cat.”
- Mount Everest is pretty big.
When Naina’s father saw her applying nail polish instead of doing her maths homework, he said, “You look like you’re working very hard. I’m sure you’ll do excellently in your exams next week.”
In this example, the subject (Naina’s father) employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm when he tells Naina that she looks like she is “working very hard”—because, clearly, what he really means is that she looks like she is avoiding her work by painting her nails instead.
When Shreya entered the classroom fifteen minutes late, her teacher said, “Ah, my most punctual student has finally arrived!”
In this example, the subject (teacher) employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm when she claims that Shreya is “punctual”—since what she actually means to say is that Shreya is fifteen minutes late to her class.
Rishi described Mishti’s black-and-white painting as “bursting with colour.”
In this example, the subject (Rishi) employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm when he claims that a “black-and-white painting” is “bursting with colour”—since he implicitly seems to be suggesting that the painting is, in fact, lacking in colour.
“Look how wonderful the weather is,” Kartik said while it was raining cats and dogs outside.
In this example, the subject (Kartik) employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm by claiming the weather is “wonderful” when it is clearly not.
I would love to spend all day trying to locate your tie, but unfortunately I have a job to do myself.
In this example, the subject employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm when they claim that they would “love” to do an unpleasant and boring task (such as locating another person’s tie for them).
“Everyone knows that mothers should have zero hobbies apart from their children,” Shwetha said when her mother in law chastised her for painting after coming home from work.
In this example, the subject (Shwetha) employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm by claiming “everyone knows” something that is not popular knowledge at all.
I’m so glad to have made it in time to watch my team lose today’s match. Thank god I didn’t miss it!
In this example, the subject employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm by claiming to be “glad to have made it” to something that was unpleasant to witness.
Thank god I have three exams this week…who needs sleep anyway?
In this example, the subject employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm by saying “who needs sleep anyway?”—when, in fact, most people need sleep to function well.
Yes, she’s a very kind person, apart from the fact that she wants everyone around her dead.
In this example, the subject employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm by suggesting that it is still possible to be a “kind person” if you want everyone around you dead. Clearly, the speaker means the opposite of what they’re saying.
Nir looked at the very small piece of chocolate his sister was offering him and said, “Wow, that’s generous of you.”
In this example, the subject (Nir) employs verbal irony in the form of sarcasm when he claims that his sister is “generous,” when she has in fact been stingy by offering him a very small piece of chocolate.
I would kill someone if it meant that I could go to Ed Sheeran’s concert next week.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of overstatement—as the speaker exaggerates what they would be willing to do in order to go to Ed Sheeran’s concert.
I wanted to stab my eyes while watching that movie, it was so terrible.
In this sentence, verbal irony is again employed in the form of overstatement—as the speaker exaggerates what watching a terrible movie made them feel like doing.
Today’s weather is the best weather Mumbai city has ever experienced.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of overstatement—as the speaker exaggerates how good the weather is.
This view is the single most beautiful view in the world, and that’s a fact.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of overstatement—as the speaker unrealistically exaggerates how beautiful the view is.
I’m so hungry I could eat an entire field of rice.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of overstatement—as the speaker exaggerates how much they could realistically eat.
When Maya saw Latika’s new earrings, she said, “oh my god, those diamonds are the size of spaceships!”
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of overstatement—as the subject (Maya) exaggerates how big Latika’s diamond earrings actually are.
The mall’s new ice skating rink was so big and empty that Mishika said it looked like a white desert.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of overstatement—as Mishika exaggerates the big and empty nature of the ice skating rink by comparing it to a desert.
The circumference of Dia’s wrists and ankles are the same as the circumference of an easily broken twig.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of overstatement—as the speaker exaggerates how skinny and fragile Dia is by comparing her wrists and ankles to twigs.
My father tells me that he will love me even after he dies.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of overstatement—as the subject (father) exaggerates how long his love for his daughter will last.
“I could eat this every day of my life for eternity,” Kiara said while eating a bowl of rasam.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of overstatement—as the subject (Kiara) exaggerates how often she could eat rasam without getting bored of it.
When Rhea showed her results to her father, he said it was “not too good”—even though she had failed the paper.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of understatement—as the subject (Rhea’s father) downplays how terrible Rhea’s results actually were.
When Shreya asked Hritik how he was doing at his grandmother’s funeral, he said, “I’ve been better.”
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of understatement—as the subject (Hritik) downplays how terrible he feels at his grandmother’s funeral.
Kolkata is not the worst city in the world.
This sentence is a litote (which is a type of understatement in which something is suggested by contradicting something that is contrary to it). Thus, this sentence makes use of verbal irony by alluding to the fact that Kolkata is a pretty good city, while saying something that understates this fact.
Mahima doesn’t have the best sense of humour in the world.
Here, again, verbal irony is employed in the form of a litote—as the speaker downplays how terrible Mahima’s sense of humour is.
When Riya won a very competitive scholarship to study in Japan, she modestly told everyone that it was “not a big deal.”
Here, again, verbal irony is employed in the form of a litote—as the speaker understates her achievement by contradicting the fact that it is a “big deal.”
When Bhavesh woke up in the morning to find the entire road flooded, he said, “Looks like it was raining a bit last night.”
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of understatement—as the subject (Bhavesh) understates how bad the previous night’s storm was.
When asked to describe Disneyland to her younger sister, Fatima just said that there was a castle.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of understatement—as the subject (Fatima) understates what sort of sights exist inside of Disneyland.
I wouldn’t recommend jumping into that lake. It’s nearly frozen at this time of the year.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of understatement—as the subject understates how bad of an idea it would be to jump into the freezing lake.
Jeh pointed at the tiger and said, “That’s a cute cat.”
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of understatement—as the subject (Jeh) calls a tiger a “cat.”
Mount Everest is pretty big.
In this sentence, verbal irony is employed in the form of understatement—since Mount Everest is the earth’s highest mountain above sea level, and a lot bigger than just “pretty big.”
Hi, I am Srishti Mukherjee. I have completed my M.A. in English.
I always like to explore new zones in the field of English Literature
Apart from this, I like to read Novels and watch movies.