tragic hero
Americannoun
Usage
What is a tragic hero? A tragic hero is a character in a dramatic tragedy who has virtuous and sympathetic traits but ultimately meets with suffering or defeat. Something tragic is sadly disastrous, such as the untimely death of a loved one. A hero is someone who has accomplished special achievements and is viewed as a role model for others. In literature, tragic specifically refers to a play that is a tragedy (as opposed to a comedy), and a hero is the protagonist. You’ll see a tragic hero in many dramas, such as Oedipus in Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex or Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Outside of classic literature, however, tragic hero is used more generally for characters who have a dark past or experience a downfall, such as Batman in DC Comics or Severus Snape in Harry Potter.
Etymology
Origin of tragic hero
First recorded in 1710–20
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.
Refn and co-screenwriter Esti Giordani seem to see Elle as a mythological tragic hero, equal parts Electra and Oedipus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
As Prince Siegfried, the tragic hero of “Swan Lake,” both Isaac Hernández, a principal since 2025, and Daniel Camargo, a principal since 2022, proved most affecting and dramatic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Though the 1745 rising failed, the prince, Charles Edward Stuart, was immortalized in the popular imagination as a tragic hero, nicknamed Bonnie Prince Charlie for his good looks.
From New York Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
And Gosling steals the movie by playing Ken as a cluelessly tragic hero.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 2023
The deceased was the tragic hero, the survivors the innocent victims; there was the omnipresence of the deity, strophe and antistrophe of the chorus of mourners led by the preacher.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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.
