IRA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does IRA mean? 

• IRA (noun)
  The noun IRA has 3 senses:

1. a militant organization of Irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive British forces from Northern Ireland and achieve a united independent Ireland

2. a retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement; taxes on the interest earned in the account are deferred

3. belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong (personified as one of the deadly sins)

  Familiarity information: IRA used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IRA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A militant organization of Irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive British forces from Northern Ireland and achieve a united independent Ireland

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

IRA; Irish Republican Army; Provisional IRA; Provisional Irish Republican Army; Provos

Instance hypernyms:

foreign terrorist organization; FTO; terrorist group; terrorist organization (a political movement that uses terror as a weapon to achieve its goals)

Meronyms (parts of "IRA"):

Sinn Fein (an Irish republican political movement founded in 1905 to promote independence from England and unification of Ireland; became the political branch of the Irish Republican Army)

Domain category:

act of terrorism; terrorism; terrorist act (the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear)

Domain region:

Eire; Ireland; Irish Republic; Republic of Ireland (a republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the island of Ireland; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1921)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement; taxes on the interest earned in the account are deferred

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

individual retirement account; IRA

Hypernyms ("IRA" is a kind of...):

pension account; pension plan; retirement account; retirement plan; retirement program; retirement savings account; retirement savings plan (a plan for setting aside money to be spent after retirement)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong (personified as one of the deadly sins)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

anger; ira; ire; wrath

Hypernyms ("ira" is a kind of...):

deadly sin; mortal sin (an unpardonable sin entailing a total loss of grace)

 Context examples 

A small molecule integrin receptor antagonist (IRA) with potential antineoplastic activity.

(Integrin Receptor Antagonist GLPG0187, NCI Thesaurus)

IRA recipients are recognized for their creative ideas and scientific skills in advancing the goals of the National Cancer Institute.

(Intramural Research Award, NCI Thesaurus)

The DCEG Intramural Research Award (IRA) is a new competitive funding mechanism to encourage exciting interdisciplinary projects that are innovative and cross the usual organizational boundaries.

(Intramural Research Award, NCI Thesaurus)

Features of the IRA program include the following: Only Principal Investigators (PIs) are eligible to receive an IRA, although scientific collaborators may include non-PIs; Priority will be given to collaborative projects that are innovative and have potential for significant scientific or public health impact, including development of resources to facilitate population-based research (e.g., creation of a novel database or research model).

(Intramural Research Award, NCI Thesaurus)