tragic
/ˈtɹæd͡ʒɪk/ adjective, noun
Forms tragics tragick
- adjective Causing great sadness or suffering. “Her father's early death was tragic.”
- adjective Relating to tragedy in a literary work.
- adjective (in tabloid newspapers) Having been the victim of a tragedy.
- adjective (informal, chiefly predicative) Cringeworthy; tryhard; unhip; embarrassing; hopeless; indicative of (or having) a chronic lack of self-awareness. “That dress is tragic.”
- noun (Australia, colloquial) An obsessive fan, a superfan
- noun (obsolete) A writer of tragedy.
- noun (obsolete) A tragedy; a tragic drama.
Synonyms
pitiful rueful atrabiliary atrabilious deplorable depressing distressing grievous heartbreaking heartrending miserable lamentable lachrymable mournful regrettable sad saddening sorrowful unhappy upsetting tragical
Etymology
From Ancient Greek τραγικός (tragikós, “of or relating to tragedy”), from τράγος (trágos, “male goat”), a reference to the goat-satyrs of the theatrical plays of the Dorians.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of or pertaining to tragedy; of the nature or character of tragedy; as, a tragic poem; a tragic play or representation.
- adjective Fatal to life; mournful; terrible; calamitous; as, the tragic scenes of the French revolution.
- noun A writer of tragedy. [Obs.]
- noun A tragedy; a tragic drama. [Obs.]
Etymology [L. tragicus, Gr.tragique.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tragic”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details