Search results
- Dictionarywry/rʌɪ/
adjective
- 1. using or expressing dry, especially mocking, humour: "a wry smile" Similar
- 2. (of a person's face or features) twisted into an expression of disgust, disappointment, or annoyance. Similar
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries
Apr 16, 2017 · "Wry" evolved from a meaning of "to twist". Applied to humor, it refers to humor that is bitterly or disdainfully ironic or amusing; distorted or perverted in meaning; warped, misdirected, or perverse; words that are unsuitable or wrong; scornful and mocking in a humorous way--it covers a lot of territory (see WordReference.com).
Jun 26, 2013 · 5. Collins is happy with half-smile. a smile that is uncertain or short-lived. A related term is sly smile. a smile that shows you know something that other people do not: "I know why Chris didn't come home yesterday," she said with a sly smile. More often than not, such a smile has a more knowing look to the eyes and is a bit less innocent in ...
Feb 10, 2018 · I generally work from the Oxford American College Dictionary, because that's what Google pulls from if you search "define x" and I'm getting hung up on the definitions of rue compared to rueful. Rue is defined as "to bitterly regret and wish it undone," and rueful has the same definition, but the OACD adds "especially in a wry or humorous way."
Jan 1, 2018 · awry is not a word in itself but a modification of the work wry, much like asleep is a modification of the word sleep. As such, awry retains the pronunciation of the root word with a long a put in front of it. In the US , these long a prefixed are much more commonly used in regions that were originally settles by Scots sch as eastern Tennessee.
Here is a relevant definition that says it all: dry adjective. (of a joke or sense of humor) subtle, expressed in a matter-of-fact way, and having the appearance of being unconscious or unintentional: he delighted his friends with a dry, covert sense of humor. NOAD.
Feb 5, 2016 · Tragicomic (adj): Something that is tragicomic is both sad and amusing at the same time. Example: This was a tragicomic story of human frailty. — Collins dictionary. Or ambivalent. Ambivalent (adj): Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone. Example: an ambivalent attitude to Europe.
Aug 16, 2012 · happening in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing wry amusement because of this. Sarcasm is "the use of irony to mock or convey contempt," but it is not precisely the same thing.
satire ˈsaˌtī (ə)r/ noun The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Source: Oxford Dictionaries. Synonyms: mockery, ridicule, derision, scorn, caricature, irony, sarcasm.
Aug 22, 2014 · I don't associate the word with merely wry or off-the-cuff humor. But let's see how various reference works define the term. From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, eleventh edition (2003): snarky adj [dial.
Jul 25, 2012 · 21. In this case, dry is not the opposite of wet, but it means bare, and lacking adornment, such as a dry report. Etymonline, the online etymology dictionary, indicates the word has been used to describe comedy for more than 500 years! dry O.E. dryge, from P.Gmc. *draugiz, from PIE *dreug-. Meaning "barren" is mid-14c.
