variants
or less commonly tragical
1
a
: regrettably serious or unpleasant : deplorable, lamentable
a tragic mistake
b
: marked by a sense of tragedy
2
: of, marked by, or expressive of tragedy
the tragic significance of the atomic bomb—
H. S. Truman
H. S. Truman3
a
: dealing with or treated in tragedy
the tragic hero
b
: appropriate to or typical of tragedy
Synonyms
Examples of tragic in a Sentence
Their deaths were tragic and untimely.
They both died in a tragic car accident.
Romeo and Juliet's tragic love affair.
We saw a tragic play about a man with AIDS.
the tragic characters of her novel
Recent Examples on the Web
The Lucky Ones is a harrowing survivor’s tale, an important history lesson, and a desperate warning from someone who has seen the tragic effects of ethnic violence.
—Shannon Carlin, TIME, 22 May 2024
From looking at those patients’ files, the hysterectomies made a certain amount of sense to Mitchell: tragic but, in an emergency, understandable.
—Eric Boodman, STAT, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tragic 
Shannon Carlin, TIME, 22 May 2024
From looking at those patients’ files, the hysterectomies made a certain amount of sense to Mitchell: tragic but, in an emergency, understandable.
—Eric Boodman, STAT, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tragic
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tragic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tragic
Cite this Entry
“Tragic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tragic. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tragic
adjective
trag·ic
ˈtraj-ik 
1
: of, marked by, or expressive of tragedy
2
: dealing with or appearing in tragedy
a tragic hero
3
: very unfortunate : deplorable
a tragic mistake
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