What does tragedy mean?

Definitions for tragedy
ˈtrædʒ ɪ ditragedy

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word tragedy.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. calamity, catastrophe, disaster, tragedy, cataclysmnoun

    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune

    "the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster"

  2. tragedynoun

    drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance; excites terror or pity

Wiktionary

  1. tragedynoun

    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.

  2. tragedynoun

    The genre of such works, and the art of producing them.

  3. tragedynoun

    A disastrous event, especially one involving great loss of life or injury.

  4. 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.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. TRAGEDYnoun

    Etymology: tragedie, Fr. tragœdia, Lat.

    Thousands more, that yet suspect no peril,
    Will now conclude their plotted tragedy. William Shakespeare.

    All our tragedies are of kings and princes; but you never see a poor man have a part unless it be as a chorus, or to fill up the scenes, to dance, or to be derided. Jeremy Taylor, holy living.

    Imitate the sister of painting, tragedy; which employs the whole forces of her art in the main action. Dryden.

    An anthem to their god Dionysus, whilst the goat stood at his altar to be sacrificed, was called the goat-song or tragedy. Thomas Rymer, Tragedies of the last Age.

    There to her heart sad tragedy addrest
    The dagger, wont to pierce the tyrant’s breast. Alexander Pope.

    I shall laugh at this,
    That they, who brought me in my master’s hate,
    I live to look upon their tragedy. William Shakespeare, Rich. III.

    I look upon this now done in England as another act of the same tragedy which was lately begun in Scotland. Charles I .

Wikipedia

  1. Tragedy

    Tragedy is a song released by the Bee Gees, written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb, included on their 1979 album Spirits Having Flown. The single reached number one in the UK in February 1979 and repeated the feat the following month on the US Billboard Hot 100. In New Zealand, Tragedy succeeded the number 1 hit for 6 weeks from 18 March - 22 April.

ChatGPT

  1. tragedy

    Tragedy is a genre of literary works, dramas or events, typically marked by a serious theme and often ending in a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that provokes pity or terror. It usually involves main characters whose flaws or poor decisions lead to their downfall or defeat. It can also refer to any disastrous or catastrophic incident or situation in real life.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Tragedynoun

    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

  2. Tragedynoun

    a fatal and mournful event; any event in which human lives are lost by human violence, more especially by unauthorized violence

Wikidata

  1. 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

  1. 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. tragōdiatragos, a he-goat, aoidos, ōdos, a singer—aeidein, adein, to sing.]

Suggested Resources

  1. tragedy

    Song lyrics by tragedy -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by tragedy on the Lyrics.com website.

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British National Corpus

  1. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'tragedy' in Nouns Frequency: #1842

How to pronounce tragedy?

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of tragedy in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of tragedy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of tragedy in a Sentence

  1. John Feinblatt:

    Instead of looking for a success story in a tragedy, lawmakers should be talking about how they can prevent gun violence in the first place, texas officials should stop ignoring the common-sense and broadly popular solutions that we know work - background checks and red flag laws.

  2. Justice Edward McLaughlin:

    I'm certain that I made the correct decision, i'm glad that in 33 years, this is the first tragedy that occurred in any way remotely connected with something that I did.

  3. Joe Biden:

    Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy, and my administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry.

  4. Anjul Nigam:

    ' Rust' is obviously a horrific tragedy, the investigation will hopefully be resolved soon and will unveil what happened. Obviously, there will be people out there who will have negative perspectives, but we're confident about continuing to make quality movies.

  5. Renato Maia:

    We're all fed up with Vale ... and this is really adding to the tension, it was a huge tragedy and now we don't know what might come next.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

tragedy#1#9367#10000

Translations for tragedy

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"tragedy." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/tragedy>.

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