Euripides

[ yoo-rip-i-deez, yuh- ]

noun

1. c480–406? b.c., Greek dramatist.

Euripides

/ jʊˈrɪpɪˌdiːz /

noun

1. Euripides?480 bc406 bcMGreekTHEATRE: dramatist ?480–406 bc , Greek tragic dramatist. His plays, 18 of which are extant, include Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus, Hecuba, Trojan Women, Electra, Iphigeneia in Tauris, Iphigeneia in Aulis, and Bacchae

Euripides

1. An ancient Greek dramatist. He was the author of numerous tragedies , including the Bacchae , Medea , and The Trojan Women . He often used the device of deus ex machina (literally, “a god from the machine”) to resolve his plots .

Notes

Today, a “deus ex machina” refers to any person or event that provides a sudden, unexpected solution to a problem or situation.

Other Words From

• Eu·ripi·dean adjective

Example Sentences

Papa, I did not think Euripides would hurt him—he knows it all so well, and he said he could not read anything else.

From Project Gutenberg

This maxim is cruel and fatal, but it is not ridiculous; nor would it have been in any way scoffed at in the time of Euripides.

From Project Gutenberg

Nevertheless, Euripides has beauties, and Sophocles still more; but they have much greater defects.

From Project Gutenberg

His "Antigone" was written when he was forty-five, and when Euripides had already gained a prize.

From Project Gutenberg

Meanwhile he, Lancaster, had his Euripides and Goethe and whatever else he liked, or knew where to borrow it.

From Project Gutenberg