What does tragedy mean?
Definitions for tragedy
ˈtrædʒ ɪ ditragedy
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word tragedy.
Princeton's WordNet
calamity, catastrophe, disaster, tragedy, cataclysm(noun)
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
"the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster"
tragedy(noun)
drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance; excites terror or pity
Wiktionary
tragedy(Noun)
A drama or similar work, in which the main character is brought to ruin or otherwise suffers the extreme consequences of some tragic flaw or weakness of character.
Etymology: From the tragedie, from the tragedie, from the tragoedia, from the , from + ᾠδή, a reference to the goat-satyrs of the theatrical plays of the Dorians.
tragedy(Noun)
The genre of such works, and the art of producing them.
Etymology: From the tragedie, from the tragedie, from the tragoedia, from the , from + ᾠδή, a reference to the goat-satyrs of the theatrical plays of the Dorians.
tragedy(Noun)
A disastrous event, especially one involving great loss of life or injury.
Etymology: From the tragedie, from the tragedie, from the tragoedia, from the , from + ᾠδή, a reference to the goat-satyrs of the theatrical plays of the Dorians.
Webster Dictionary
Tragedy(noun)
a dramatic poem, composed in elevated style, representing a signal action performed by some person or persons, and having a fatal issue; that species of drama which represents the sad or terrible phases of character and life
Tragedy(noun)
a fatal and mournful event; any event in which human lives are lost by human violence, more especially by unauthorized violence
Freebase
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes in its audience an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in the viewing. While many cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, the term tragedy often refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of Western civilization. That tradition has been multiple and discontinuous, yet the term has often been used to invoke a powerful effect of cultural identity and historical continuity—"the Greeks and the Elizabethans, in one cultural form; Hellenes and Christians, in a common activity," as Raymond Williams puts it. From its obscure origins in the theatre of ancient Greece 2,500 years ago, from which there survives only a fraction of the work of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, through its singular articulations in the works of Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, Racine, and Schiller, to the more recent naturalistic tragedy of Strindberg, Beckett's modernist meditations on death, loss and suffering, and Müller's postmodernist reworkings of the tragic canon, tragedy has remained an important site of cultural experimentation, negotiation, struggle, and change. A long line of philosophers—which includes Plato, Aristotle, Saint Augustine, Voltaire, Hume, Diderot, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Freud, Benjamin, Camus, Lacan, and Deleuze—have analysed, speculated upon, and criticised the tragic form.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Tragedy
traj′e-di, n. a species of drama in which the action and language are elevated, and the catastrophe sad: any mournful and dreadful event.—n. Tragē′dian, an actor of tragedy:—fem. Tragē′dienne.—adjs. Trag′ic, -al, pertaining to tragedy: sorrowful: calamitous.—adv. Trag′ically.—ns. Trag′icalness; Trag′i-com′edy, a dramatic piece in which grave and comic scenes are blended.—adjs. Trag′i-com′ic, -al.—adv. Trag′i-com′ically. [Lit. 'goat-song,' so called either from the old dramas being exhibited when a goat was sacrificed, or from a goat being the prize, or because the actors were dressed in goat-skins—L. tragœdia—Gr. tragōdia—tragos, a he-goat, aoidos, ōdos, a singer—aeidein, adein, to sing.]
Suggested Resources
tragedy
Song lyrics by tragedy -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by tragedy on the Lyrics.com website.
British National Corpus
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'tragedy' in Nouns Frequency: #1842
Anagrams for tragedy »
gyrated
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of tragedy in Chaldean Numerology is: 2
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of tragedy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Examples of tragedy in a Sentence
Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi:
Due to the chemicals that were in the building and the structural instability, it has been deemed unsafe for us to continue any search for the three subjects that are still unaccounted for, we are shocked and heartbroken by the tragedy.
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat:
A tragedy is unfolding in the Mediterranean, and if the EU and the world continue to close their eyes, it will be judged in the harshest terms as it was judged in the past when it closed its eyes to genocides when the comfortable did nothing.
Yes, madam, I am finished. My star has fallen. I work and I try, yet know that all is but a farce.... I await the end of the tragedy and – strangely detached from everything – I do not feel any more an actor. I feel I am the last of spectators.
Twenty years ago, we never imagined that there would be people so infatuated with this tragedy years later, maybe moving the physical plant would alleviate some of the issues.
If the injustices are severe enough, if there are enough injustices, it can equal a tragedy.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for tragedy
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- مأساةArabic
- траге́дыя, бяда́, го́ра, няшча́сцеBelarusian
- траге́дияBulgarian
- tragèdiaCatalan, Valencian
- tragédieCzech
- tragedieDanish
- TragödieGerman
- τραγωδίαGreek
- tragedioEsperanto
- tragediaSpanish
- تراژدی, سوگنامه, غمنامهPersian
- tragedia, surma, murhenäytelmäFinnish
- tragédieFrench
- catástrofe, traxediaGalician
- טרגדיהHebrew
- dráma, tragédia, szomorújátékHungarian
- tragediaItalian
- 悲劇, 惨事Japanese
- 비극Korean
- tragedi, nahasMalay
- tragedia, bieda, nieszczęście, gorzePolish
- desastre, tragédia, catástrofePortuguese
- tragedieRomanian
- траге́дия, беда́, го́ре, несча́стьеRussian
- tragedija, трагедијаSerbo-Croatian
- tragediSwedish
- mkasaSwahili
- โศกนาฏกรรมThai
- біда́, го́ре, траге́дія, неща́стяUkrainian
- lügadramatVolapük
- 悲劇Chinese
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"tragedy." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 3 Mar. 2021. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/tragedy>.