tragic

Sometimes trag·i·cal

[traj-ik]

adjective

1. characteristic or suggestive of tragedy.

   tragic solemnity.

   Antonyms: comic

2. extremely mournful, melancholy, or pathetic.

   a tragic plight.

   Synonyms: pitiful
   Antonyms: comic

3. dreadful, calamitous, disastrous, or fatal.

   a tragic event.

   Antonyms: comic

4. of, pertaining to, characterized by, or of the nature of tragedy.

   the tragic drama.

5. acting in or writing tragedy.

   a tragic actor; a tragic poet.

noun

1. the tragic, the element or quality of tragedy in literature, art, drama, etc..

   lives that had never known anything but the tragic.

tragic

/ ˈtrædʒɪk, ˈtrædʒɪkəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of tragedy

2. mournful or pitiable

   a tragic face

Other Word Forms

• tragically adverb
• tragicalness noun
• hypertragic adjective
• hypertragical adjective
• hypertragically adverb
• nontragic adjective
• nontragical adjective
• nontragically adverb
• nontragicalness noun
• quasi-tragic adjective
• quasi-tragically adverb
• supertragic adjective
• supertragically adverb
• untragic adjective
• untragical adjective
• untragically adverb
• untragicalness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tragic¹

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin tragicus, from Greek tragikós “of tragedy,” from trág(os) “goat” + -ikos -ic; tragedy ( def. )

Example Sentences

District Judge Stuart Smith called the case "devastating, harrowing and absolutely tragic".

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The pairing of Teddy’s conviction with his limp ponytail tilts the scene from tragic to absurd.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The latter drop followed a tragic mine accident in Indonesia that resulted in two fatalities.

Read more on Barron's

"The family has requested privacy as they grieve this tragic loss," it read.

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It marks a tragic milestone for Pitt and comes just as he appears set to embark on a new chapter with a new home, which is located in an exclusive community called Outpost Estates.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• appalling 
• awful 
• calamitous 
• cataclysmic 
• deadly 
• deplorable 
• destructive 
• dire 
• disastrous 
• dreadful 
• fatal 
• fateful 
• grievous 
• grim 
• harrowing 
• heartbreaking 
• miserable 
• painful 
• pathetic 
• pitiful