Pyrrhus

[ pir-uhs ]

/ ˈpɪr əs /

Save This Word!

noun

c318–272 b.c., king of Epirus c300–272.

Classical Mythology. Neoptolemus.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

affect

effect

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Words nearby Pyrrhus

Pyrrhic victory, Pyrrho, Pyrrhonism, pyrrhotite, pyrrhuloxia, Pyrrhus, pyrrole, pyrrolidine, Pyrrophyta, pyrrophyte, pyruvate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Pyrrhus in a sentence

The plot is driven by efforts to blame someone for the unfavorable wind and to identify the Trojan who clandestinely buried the corpse of King Priam, clumsily hacked to death by Pyrrhus and left to be picked over by crows.
Pat Barker’s ‘The Women of Troy’ continues her brilliant reassessment of the Trojan War|Wendy Smith|August 24, 2021|Washington Post
Pyrrhus is the novel’s most interesting character after Briseis, ensnared by the imperative to dominate and subdue as surely as she and the other women are trapped in servitude and submission.
Pat Barker’s ‘The Women of Troy’ continues her brilliant reassessment of the Trojan War|Wendy Smith|August 24, 2021|Washington Post
How did his elephants save Pyrrhus—and then we saw them for the first time?
The Lion's Brood|Duffield Osborne
The discourse of Pyrrhus with Cineas is only a transcript of the impatient ambition of the generality of mankind.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I|Francis Augustus Cox

A single battle had delivered to Pyrrhus all the south of the Peninsula, where the Greek towns received him with enthusiasm.
History of Julius Caesar Vol. 1 of 2|Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873.
At Priam's palace a last stand is made, but Pyrrhus forces the great gates, and the defenders are massacred (442-603).
The Aeneid of Virgil|Virgil
Dionikos, Pyrrhus's youngest son, who was still unmarried, built new boats and repaired the old ones.
Cleopatra, Complete|Georg Ebers

British Dictionary definitions for Pyrrhus

Pyrrhus

/ (ˈpɪrəs) /

noun

319–272 bc, king of Epirus (306–272). He invaded Italy but was ultimately defeated by the Romans (275 bc)

another name for Neoptolemus

Derived forms of Pyrrhus

Pyrrhic, adjective

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