Definition of tragedy Tragedy

/tɹæˈʤʌdi/ - [tratjudee] - trag•e•dy

We found 12 definitions of tragedy from 7 different sources.

What does tragedy mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: tragedies
tragedy - drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance; excites terror or pity
		comedy light and humorous drama with a happy ending
		drama the quality of being arresting or highly emotional
tragedy - an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster"
		calamity, catastrophe, disaster, cataclysm
		misfortune, bad luck unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event
		act of god, force majeure, inevitable accident, unavoidable casualty, vis major a natural and unavoidable catastrophe that interrupts the expected course of events; "he discovered that his house was not insured against acts of God"
		apocalypse a cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil
		famine a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death
		kiss of death something that is ruinous; "if this were known it would be the kiss of death for my political career"
		meltdown a disaster comparable to a nuclear meltdown; "there is little likelihood of a meltdown comparable to the American banking collapse in March 1933"
		plague an annoyance; "those children are a damn plague"
		visitation an official visit for inspection or supervision; "the commissioner made visitations to all the precinct stations"; "the recent visitation of the bishop to his diocese"
		tidal wave a wave resulting from the periodic flow of the tides that is caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun

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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.
tragedy (Noun)
The genre of such works, and the art of producing them.
tragedy (Noun)
A disastrous event, especially one involving great loss of life or injury.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

tragedy (n.)
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 (n.)
A fatal and mournful event; any event in which human lives are lost by human violence, more especially by unauthorized violence.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

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

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 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.]

Wikipedia

A tragedy is a sad thing. In theatre, a tragedy is a play that ends sadly. A tragedy is usually about a person who has many good qualities, but has one bad quality (called a "tragic flaw") that causes trouble for him, and may cause him, or his family or friends, to be in trouble.

Often in a tragedy, there is one thing that the hero does not want to happen and tries to prevent, but no matter what he does, it makes this thing more and more sure to happen. They originated in Ancient Greece where they were performed at religious festivals. The three most famous Greek tragedy writers were Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.