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tragic

Pronunciation: /ˈtradʒɪk/
Translate tragic | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of tragic

adjective

  • 1causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow:the shooting was a tragic accident
  • suffering extreme distress or sorrow:the tragic parents reached the end of their tether
  • informal very bad or inadequate:the fact that they are so loved-up reminds me just how spectacularly tragic my life is she wears tragic cardigans, usually done up the wrong way
  • 2relating to tragedy in a literary work: the same rules apply whether the plot is tragic or comic

noun

Australian/NZ informal
  • a boring or socially inept person, typically having an obsessive and solitary interest:at school she’s not a complete tragic, but she’s not exactly popular either

Derivatives

tragical

adjective

tragically

adverb

Origin:

mid 16th century: from French tragique, via Latin from Greek tragikos, from tragos 'goat', but associated with tragōidia (see tragedy)

tragic in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of tragic in the US English dictionary
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