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.

Unlike the widely read Sophoclean trio, lesser-known works can generate suspense.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Oedipus calls himself Laius’ “successor, the inheritor of his legacy,” and in true Sophoclean fashion he speaks more than he knows.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025

However, after the game’s Sophoclean twist near the end, the hardships visited upon the player take on a different light.

From Washington Post • Aug. 27, 2021

Some of these plays – Antigone and the Sophoclean Electra in particular – could be moulded to fit repressive contemporary ideals of womanhood, since their heroines demonstrate selfless devotion to dead male family members.

From The Guardian • Jul. 7, 2017

To the tragedy of Verdun, these men were the chorus; there was something Sophoclean in this group of older men alone in the silence and ruin of the beleaguered city.

From A Volunteer Poilu by Beston, Henry