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
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 tragic crash led to the deaths of three soldiers who were aboard the helicopter, as well as all 60 passengers and four crew members on the commercial flight.
—Natalia Senanayake, People.com, 10 Mar. 2025
Because Indy has no knowledge of what is happening in the house, nor any awareness of what a haunted house even is in the first place, his reactions are scarier and more tragic than those of a human.
—Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire, 10 Mar. 2025
The tragic consequence is that today Putinism is advancing across Europe and the United States.
—Michael McFaul, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2025
The Blue Jackets, who suffered the tragic death of teammate Johnny Gaudreau just before training camp, have been one of the most compelling stories in all of sports this season.
—Aaron Portzline, The Athletic, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tragic
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Natalia Senanayake, People.com, 10 Mar. 2025
Because Indy has no knowledge of what is happening in the house, nor any awareness of what a haunted house even is in the first place, his reactions are scarier and more tragic than those of a human.
—Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire, 10 Mar. 2025
The tragic consequence is that today Putinism is advancing across Europe and the United States.
—Michael McFaul, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2025
The Blue Jackets, who suffered the tragic death of teammate Johnny Gaudreau just before training camp, have been one of the most compelling stories in all of sports this season.
—Aaron Portzline, The Athletic, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tragic
Cite this Entry
“Tragic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tragic. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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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