tragic

B1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈtɹæd͡ʒɪk/ See IPA manual

adj noun Freq #4220

Meanings

1

adj
Very sad, especially because it involves death or suffering.

Her father's early death was tragic.
2

adj
Relating to tragedy as a type of serious play.

The play follows a classic tragic hero.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · very sad, especially... deplorable distressing heartbreaking lamentable

Word family

Related forms tragical tragicallytragicomic

Common collocations

tragic death Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Ancient Greek τραγικός (tragikós, “of or relating to tragedy”), from τράγος (trágos, “male goat”), a reference to the goat-satyrs of the theatrical plays of the Dorians.

*terh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

# tragic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈtɹæd͡ʒɪk
**Frequency rank:** 4220

## Meanings
1. Very sad, especially because it involves death or suffering.
2. Relating to tragedy as a type of serious play.

## Examples
- Her father's early death was tragic.
- The play follows a classic tragic hero.

## Related Forms
- tragical
- tragically
- tragicomic

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *terh₁-

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek τραγικός (tragikós, “of or relating to tragedy”), from τράγος (trágos, “male goat”), a reference to the goat-satyrs of the theatrical plays of the Dorians.

## AI Etymology
Tragic is from Ancient Greek τραγικός (tragikós, “of or relating to tragedy”), from τράγος (trágos, “male goat”), a reference to the goat-satyrs of the theatrical plays of the Dorians. The historical line also includes Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-. In present-day use, it can mean very sad, especially because it involves death or suffering, or relating to tragedy as a type of serious play.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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