Ironic means funny or striking because it is the opposite of what you would expect. An ironic twist, ironic that he of all people, said ironically.
Verbal irony is saying the opposite of what you mean; situational irony is an outcome that reverses expectation. It is not the same as coincidence or bad luck, which is the objection people make to loose uses of the word. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something the character does not. Note ironically, which is often used simply to mean oddly enough, and that irony travels badly in writing without tone.
1adjectiveironicMeaning the opposite of what is said.
“The whole comment was ironic and about half the room missed it.”
2adjectivestrikingStriking because it reverses what was expected.
“It is ironic that the safety officer fell off the ladder.”
ironic is a quality of reversal.
Greek eironeia meant dissembling or feigned ignorance — the technique Socrates used, pretending to know nothing in order to expose what others did not know. Irony began as a debating tactic and became a tone of voice.
Ancient Greek
εἰρωνικός
Latin
īrōnicus
English, today
ironic
Latin īrōnicus, from Ancient Greek εἰρωνικός. Compare Middle French -, ironique, equivalent to irony + ic.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA