Words / B2

TRAJ-uh-dee/ˈtrædʒədi/

A tragedy is a disastrous sad event, especially with death, or a serious play with a sad ending: a national tragedy; Greek tragedy. Disaster stresses scale; accident may be smaller. Tragic is the adjective. Do not call a missed train a tragedy. Inquiries follow public tragedies.

Meaning

A very sad event, especially one involving death; also a serious play with a sad ending.

Examples

• “The inquiry followed the stadium tragedy.”
• “The module includes a Greek tragedy, which is the literary sense.”

Good to know

a tragedy; a national / personal tragedy. Adjective: tragic. Literature: a tragedy. Weaker: accident. Not a minor inconvenience. News: follow a tragedy.

Near in meaning

disaster

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