unironically
/ʌnʌɪˈrɒnɪkli/
Very CommonSaid with full sincerity, not as a joke, even when the thing being said sounds like it should be a joke.
Saying it often makes the admission funnier. The word signals self-awareness about how the take will land, while refusing to walk it back.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | I unironically love the Shrek soundtrack. | Genuine love for something most people treat as a meme. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | This movie is unironically a masterpiece. | Serious claim about something people expect to be dismissed. | reddit, 2024 |
| 03 | I unironically think he was right. | Holding a position you know is unpopular but standing by it. | x, 2023 |
| 04 | She unironically listens to that playlist at the gym. No shame. | Doing something without any self-consciousness about how it looks. | instagram, 2024 |
Use it when
- You genuinely like or believe something that people usually treat as a joke.
- Your opinion might sound ironic but you want to clarify it's not.
- You are admitting to a guilty pleasure or unpopular opinion.
- You want to signal sincerity in an environment where irony is the default.
Do not use it when
- You are actually being ironic or sarcastic.Use “ironically” instead.
- The sincerity of the statement is already obvious and the word adds nothing.
Unironically vs ironically
unironically
Signals genuine sincerity when the statement might sound like a joke.
VS
ironically
Signals the statement is a joke or ironic even when it sounds sincere.
Origin and context
Grew out of internet culture's default ironic register, where sincerity became something that needed to be explicitly flagged. Became widespread on Tumblr and Twitter in the 2010s.
- First seen
- mid-2010s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/unironicallyUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0