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tragedy

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈtrædʒədi/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈtrædʒɪdi/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(traji dē)

Inflections of 'tragedy' (n): npl: tragedies

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
trag•e•dy /ˈtrædʒɪdi/USA pronunciation   n., pl. -dies. 
  1. a terrible or fatal event or affair;
    disaster:[countable]a family tragedy.
  2. Literature a play dealing with such affairs or events:[countable]Shakespeare's tragedies.
  3. Literature[uncountable] the branch of the drama concerned with this form of composition.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
trag•e•dy  (traji dē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -dies. 
  1. a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or society, to downfall or destruction.
  2. the branch of the drama that is concerned with this form of composition.
  3. the art and theory of writing and producing tragedies.
  4. any literary composition, as a novel, dealing with a somber theme carried to a tragic conclusion.
  5. the tragic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life.
  6. a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair;
    calamity;
    disaster:the tragedy of war.
  • Greek tragōidía, equivalent. to trág(os) goat + ōidé̄ song (see ode) + -ia -y3; reason for name variously explained
  • Medieval Latin tragēdia, Latin tragoedia
  • Middle English tragedie 1325–75

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
tragedy /ˈtrædʒɪdɪ/ n ( pl -dies)
  1. (esp in classical and Renaissance drama) a play in which the protagonist, usually a person of importance and outstanding personal qualities, falls to disaster through the combination of a personal failing and circumstances with which he or she cannot deal
  2. any dramatic or literary composition dealing with serious or sombre themes and ending with disaster
  3. the branch of drama dealing with such themes
  4. the unfortunate aspect of something
  5. a shocking or sad event; disaster

Compare comedyEtymology: 14th Century: from Old French tragédie, from Latin tragoedia, from Greek tragōidia, from tragos goat + ōidē song; perhaps a reference to the goat-satyrs of Peloponnesian plays
'tragedy' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "tragedy" in the title:

"a terrible tragedy" vs. "terribly tragic"
A tragedy out of the blue
<a?> tragedy struck the Biden family
accuse the reporter of exploiting a tragedy for <his> own ends.
Aristotle's ideas on tragedy
but not without tragedy.
countable / noncountable: tragedy
Do not romanticise <nothing of> this tragedy
"emotional injuries inflicted on them 'by/because of' that 'tragedy/tragic incident'
for the tragedy may come about
hang on to a tragedy
have overcome tragedy to find
I would hate to see a tragedy there.
if not for <a?> tragedy
images <about/of> the tragedy
immune to tragedy
In moments where tragedy happens or even hurt
Joe Barton's "tragedy of the first proportion"
mankind without ... is a tragedy
no driving in they went headed for this tragedy
out of this tragedy vs. through this tragedy
Paddock [Second Witch in the tragedy of Macbeth]
rapidly enacted tragedy
Revel in the tragedy
shared in/shared the ongoing tragedy
something that wasn't someone else's tragedy
such contemporary writers of dramatic tragedy as
Ten years later, the tragedy still lingers in my memory.
than the tragedy of a species dying out.
the ghastly dot of tragedy converging like a cannon ball
more...

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