meaning - What is the name of a word that doesn't mean what it says?



Like the group "Anonymous," they are not REALLY anonymous since they are all over media outlets. Is there a word for that?


Edit: Autoantonym almost sounds right but that seems to imply it has two meanings like left the airport vs going left. This one doesn't mean well known, it is the complete opposite of the actual word.



Answer



Ironic seems to fit your situation



Ironic



  • Using words to express the opposite of their literal meaning.



Irony is similar to sarcasm, but the goal of sarcasm is to mock, while irony is usually used to make subtler points.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

verbs - "Baby is creeping" vs. "baby is crawling" in AmE

commas - Does this sentence have too many subjunctives?

grammatical number - Use of lone apostrophe for plural?

etymology - Where does the phrase "doctored" originate?

phrases - Somebody is gonna kiss the donkey

typography - When a dagger is used to indicate a note, must it come after an asterisk?

etymology - Origin of "s--t eating grin"