poetic justice
noun
: an outcome in which vice is punished and virtue rewarded usually in a manner peculiarly or ironically appropriate
Examples of poetic justice in a Sentence
After the way he treated his staff, it was poetic justice that he lost his job.
Recent Examples on the Web
That the Del Paso Boulevard space once housed county juvenile corrections offices serves as its own bit of poetic justice.
—
Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024
Beating Minnesota with Dallas and Philadelphia losing would poetic justice for Detroit in moving to No. 2.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 1 Jan. 2024
There is some form of poetic justice in the land being earmarked for children’s enjoyment, but neither woman voices it.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2024
There’s some poetic justice in the fact that America’s biggest bank became such a benefactor in Detroit.
—Matthew Heimer, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023
There’s an element of poetic justice in an homage to Ouologuem winning such approbation from the very establishment that discarded him.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
Black people presiding over the downfall of Donald Trump is poetic justice
On Tuesday, a few hours before the latest indictment of former President Trump became public, Vice President Kamala Harris was in Florida, addressing a room full of mostly Black women.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2023
So, in some ways, giving Black people the land where the prison once operated as reparations could be seen as poetic justice.
—Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2023
The invocation of the dollar figure originally generated to halt discussion of a move had a sort of poetic justice.
—William Finnegan, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2023
Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024
Beating Minnesota with Dallas and Philadelphia losing would poetic justice for Detroit in moving to No. 2.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 1 Jan. 2024
There is some form of poetic justice in the land being earmarked for children’s enjoyment, but neither woman voices it.
—Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2024
There’s some poetic justice in the fact that America’s biggest bank became such a benefactor in Detroit.
—Matthew Heimer, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023
There’s an element of poetic justice in an homage to Ouologuem winning such approbation from the very establishment that discarded him.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
Black people presiding over the downfall of Donald Trump is poetic justice
On Tuesday, a few hours before the latest indictment of former President Trump became public, Vice President Kamala Harris was in Florida, addressing a room full of mostly Black women.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2023
So, in some ways, giving Black people the land where the prison once operated as reparations could be seen as poetic justice.
—Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2023
The invocation of the dollar figure originally generated to halt discussion of a move had a sort of poetic justice.
—William Finnegan, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poetic justice.' 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 poetic justice
Cite this Entry
“Poetic justice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poetic%20justice. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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