King Lear

American

[leer] / lɪər /

noun

a tragedy (1606) by Shakespeare.

King Lear Cultural

A tragedy by William Shakespeare about an old king who unwisely hands his kingdom over to two of his daughters. The daughters, who had flattered Lear while he was in power, turn on him; their actions reduce him to poverty and eventually to madness. His youngest daughter, Cordelia, whom he had at first spurned, remains faithful to him.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Young Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is burdened with self-reproach, while old King Lear suffers from narcissism, vanity and madness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

The actor also played the doomed warlord who divides his kingdom between his sons in "Ran", Kurosawa's 1985 film based on the Shakespeare play "King Lear".

From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025

King Lear, bearing the brunt of a storm, looks at what he thinks is a mad beggar and wonders if “unaccommodated man” is no more than “a poor, bare, forked animal.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2025

The Scottish actor trained at Dundee Rep Theatre before moving on to perform with the Royal Lyceum Theatre, the Royal National Theatre and the RSC, where he gained acclaim for playing King Lear.

From BBC • Aug. 11, 2025

While tentbound high on Everest, Mallory and his companions would read aloud to one another from Hamlet and King Lear.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023