tragic irony

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noun

dramatic irony in tragic drama.

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Origin of tragic irony

First recorded in 1825–35

Words nearby tragic irony

tragedize, tragedy, tragic, tragic flaw, tragic hero, tragic irony, tragicomedy, tragion, tragopan, tragus, Traherne

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tragic irony in a sentence

It may be fun and it may get them paid, until oversaturation ruins our sense for irony and destroys the market for it.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Within minutes, it seems, of the disclosures of these tragic events, large numbers of people chose a side and stuck to it.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion|Gene Robinson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Your death is a tragic bookend to a year touted as the “transgender tipping point.”
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Still, I worry that a simple traffic stop could have tragic consequences.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?|Goldie Taylor|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The irony did not escape one local, Laith Hathim, as he stood and watched the newly minted refugees make their way into Mosul.
Has the Kurdish Victory at Sinjar Turned the Tide of ISIS War?|Niqash|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes it comes in literal sobriety, sometimes in derisive travesti, sometimes in tragic aggravation.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
The landlady had related the tragic history of the dead mother and the invalid aunt.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
This unreasoning, feminine obstinacy so wrought upon him that he permitted himself a smile and a lapse into irony and banter.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
The tall policeman was an artist at the work; but it nearly brought him to a tragic end, as I will relate.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
Today her irony was concealed, but, like a carefully-covered fire, he knew it was burning still.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for tragic irony

tragic irony

noun

the use of dramatic irony in a tragedy (originally, in Greek tragedy), so that the audience is aware that a character's words or actions will bring about a tragic or fatal result, while the character himself is not

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