peripeteia

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR peripeteia ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

Also per·i·pe·ti·a, pe·rip·e·ty

[puh-rip-i-tee] /pəˈrɪp ɪ ti/.

Origin of peripeteia

1585–95; < Greek peripéteia sudden change, equivalent to peripet(ḗs) literally, falling round (peri- peri- + pet-, base of píptein to fall) + -eia -y³

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for peripeteia

culmination, twist, climax, juncture, crux, axis, change, contingency, crisis, crossing, crossroads, crunch, cusp, development, emergency, exigency, hinge, nexus, pass, peak

British Dictionary definitions for peripeteia

peripeteia

peripetia peripety (pəˈrɪpətɪ)

noun

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

Derived Formsperipeteian or peripetian, adjective

Word Origin for peripeteia

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for peripeteia

also peripetia, 1590s, from Greek peripeteia "a turn right about; a sudden change" (of fortune, in a tragedy), from peri- "around" (see peri-) + stem of piptein "to fall" (see symptom).