peripeteia

[ per-uh-pi-tahy-uh, -tee-uh ]

noun

1. a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal, especially in a literary work.

peripeteia

/ -ˈtɪə; pəˈrɪpətɪ; ˌpɛrɪpɪˈtaɪə /

noun

1. (esp in drama) an abrupt turn of events or reversal of circumstances

Derived Forms

• ˌperipeˈteian, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of peripeteia¹

First recorded in 1585–95; from Greek peripéteia “sudden change,” equivalent to peripet(ḗs) literally, “falling round” ( peri- peri- + pet-, base of píptein “to fall”) + -eia -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of peripeteia¹

C16: from Greek, from peri- + piptein to fall (to change suddenly, literally: to fall around)

Example Sentences

A tragedy, wrote Aristotle in the fourth century BC, depicts the fall of a great but flawed man, and hinges on a peripeteia, or sudden reversal, like the Italian defender’s slur.

From Economist

My second thought: the Greek word “peripeteia,” a sudden reversal of fortune.

From Wall Street Journal

But the most crucial element of tragedy as he saw it was peripeteia: reversals of fortune.

From The Guardian

This is the classic Aristotelian peripeteia: the sudden reversal of fortune.

From The Guardian

"When the heir returneth, then shall ring the bell, so the legend runneth, so the old men tell"; in some such words was this grand peripeteia announced in the text.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• climax
• critical point
• crux
• culmination
• juncture
• twist