Sophocles

American  

[sof-uh-kleez] / ˈsɒf əˌkliz /

noun

1. 495?–406? b.c., Greek dramatist.

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Sophocles British  

/ ˈsɒfəˌkliːz, ˌsɒfəˈkliːən /

noun

1. ?496–406 _bc , Greek dramatist; author of seven extant tragedies: Ajax, Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Trachiniae, Electra, Philoctetes , and Oedipus at Colonus

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Sophocles Cultural  

1. An ancient Greek poet, author of Oedipus Rex and Antigone. He is counted, with Euripides and Aeschylus, among the great Greek authors of tragedies.

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Other Word Forms

• Sophoclean
  adjective

Example Sentences

New York’s remarkable Year of Sophocles is heading into its final quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

I thought what might follow would be Mr. Icke’s most provocative—and logical and interesting—departure from Sophocles, an ending of a more ambiguous and less gruesome kind.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

The Troubadour Theater Company returns to the Getty Villa for ‘Oedipus the King, Mama!,’ a mashup of Elvis and Sophocles that’s all shook up.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2025

Sophocles shows us in all his tragedies that humans are too enmeshed with each other to be ruled with any justice by an autocrat’s commands.

From Salon • Feb. 25, 2024

The word belongs to the noun category, just as it always has; Sophocles did not suddenly turn into an adjective just because it is parked in front of another noun.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker