tragedy

American  

[traj-i-dee] / ˈtrædʒ ɪ di /

noun

• tragedies
  plural

1. a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair; calamity; disaster.

   stunned by the tragedy of so many deaths.

2. a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically involving a great person destined to experience downfall or utter destruction, as through a character flaw or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or an unyielding society.

3. the branch of the drama that is concerned with this form of composition.

4. the art and theory of writing and producing tragedies.

5. any literary composition, as a novel, dealing with a somber theme carried to a tragic or disastrous conclusion.

6. the tragic or mournful or calamitous element of drama, of literature generally, or of life.

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tragedy British  

/ ˈtrædʒɪdɪ /

noun

1. (esp in classical and Renaissance drama) a play in which the protagonist, usually a man of importance and outstanding personal qualities, falls to disaster through the combination of a personal failing and circumstances with which he cannot deal

2. (in later drama, such as that of Ibsen) a play in which the protagonist is overcome by a combination of social and psychological circumstances

3. any dramatic or literary composition dealing with serious or sombre themes and ending with disaster

4. (in medieval literature) a literary work in which a great person falls from prosperity to disaster, often through no fault of his own

5. the branch of drama dealing with such themes

6. the unfortunate aspect of something

7. a shocking or sad event; disaster

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tragedy Cultural  

1. A serious drama in which a central character, the protagonist — usually an important, heroic person — meets with disaster either through some personal fault or through unavoidable circumstances. In most cases, the protagonist's downfall conveys a sense of human dignity in the face of great conflict. Tragedy originated in ancient Greece in the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. In modern times, it achieved excellence with William Shakespeare in such works as Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello. Twentieth-century tragedies include Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, and Murder in the Cathedral, by T. S. Eliot.

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Discover More

In common usage, disasters of many kinds are called tragedies.

Aristotle argued that the proper effect of tragedy is catharsis — the purging of the emotions.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontragedy
  noun
• supertragedy
  noun
• protragedy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tragedies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tragedy

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English tragedie, from Medieval Latin tragēdia, Latin tragoedia, from Greek tragōidía, from trág(os) “goat” + ōid(ḗ) “song” ( see ode) + -ia -y ³; reason for name variously explained

Explanation

Tragedy is a noun that indicates disaster or bad fortune. It would be a tragedy to lose your job, but an even greater tragedy to fall ill while unemployed and without health care. First recorded in the late 14th century, the noun tragedy originally referred to a play with an unhappy ending. About a century later it also came to mean an unhappy event or a disaster. The playwright George Bernard Shaw wittily observed, "“There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it.” The comedian Mel Brooks defined tragedy as follows: "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tragedy tragedies

"Although the verdict marks a significant milestone, the broader effort to hold Boeing responsible for this tragedy, and to help prevent anything like it from happening again, is just as important," he added.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

That tragedy and the ensuing trauma was, naturally, the framework for the documentary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

That’s a tragedy for China, and for the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

We don’t have to live in a world where people profit from tragedy, be it wildfires or a child with cancer, housing foreclosures or weapons manufacturing.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only tragedy that year.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

At the retreat, no one was writing timeless concertos or the world’s greatest tragedies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

"It's an emotional release that I think we are often denied because we have to read tragedies in the news every day and then keep our heads down and work."

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

“Titanic” made audiences understand why historic catastrophes are also intimate tragedies.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Coriolanus” has never been one of Shakespeare’s more popular tragedies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Like we’re all just here to witness each other’s tragedies.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

Related Words

• adversity
• calamity
• catastrophe
• failure
• hardship
• humiliation
• misfortune
• mishap
• shock
• struggle
• woe
• wreck