C1 · Advanced
Irony & Understatement
Vocabulary for dry humor, irony, and understatement: saying less than you mean or deliberately meaning the opposite of what you say.
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- Words & phrases
- 33
- Lessons
- 2
- Conversations
- 1
- Readings
- 1
A preview of what you’ll master
Words you’ll make your own.
Explore every meaning in this unit. Learn how to say it in Danish when you start.
- irony
- sarcasm
- understatement
- exaggeration, overstatement
- self-irony, self-deprecating humor
- to understate, to play down
- snide, barbed
- a snide remark, a dig
- double-edged, with a hidden meaning
- ironic
- dry humor
- litotes (rhetorical understatement)
- not bad at all
- not bad
- sort of, kind of
- a tad, a touch
- so-so, passably
- it's bearable, one can live with it
- It could have been worse.
- it's not the end of the world
- of course; it is the least one could do
- well I never, good grief
- oh lovely, oh yes indeed (often ironic)
- not exactly
- to mean the exact opposite
- One could have wished for more.
- dramatic irony
- situational irony
- verbal irony
- no small feat
- less than thrilled
- a masterclass in
- to poke fun at
Danish words, pronunciation, and practice are waiting inside your learning account.
Understand the why
Your lessons, step by step.
- Lesson 1
Irony and Understatement
- Lesson 2
Was That Praise or Irony?
Where this unit fits
Courses with this unit.

Advanced · Part 1
Work through the vocabulary, lessons, conversations and reading activities in this part. Practice grammar along the way.
19 Units · about 17.5 h

Culture in Media and Literature
Catch the cultural references, irony and style in Danish media and literature.
7 Units · about 4.5 h
Your next conversation starts here
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Start learning this unitOne account. Your progress, on the web and in the app.