Pyrrhus
Americannoun
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319–272 bc , king of Epirus (306–272). He invaded Italy but was ultimately defeated by the Romans (275 bc )
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another name for Neoptolemus
Other Word Forms
- Pyrrhic adjective
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.
Pyrrhus, according to Plutarch, anticipated what was to come as he returned to Epirus: “What a battlefield we are leaving to the Carthaginians and the Romans.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
One of the more colorful contestants was Pyrrhus, who was not Macedonian but was the king of Epirus and Alexander’s cousin.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
King Pyrrhus needed a win, too, but that didn’t work out too well for him.
From Washington Post • Apr. 20, 2017
An AD 1st century bust of Pyrrhus from Villa of the Papyri in the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2015
The speech of Pyrrhus had moved him greatly, and he lamented that the actor's passion was greater than his own.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
