tragicomic

adjective

tragi·​com·​ic ˌtra-ji-ˈkä-mik 

variants or less commonly tragicomical

ˌtra-ji-ˈkä-mi-kəl 

1

: of, relating to, or resembling tragicomedy

2

: manifesting both tragic and comic aspects

Examples of tragicomic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lee’s tragicomic blankness makes the haplessness of his comrades’ efforts to bring him in as an ostensible traitor all the funnier. — Jake Cole, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026

Assassination-for-hire is the tragicomic domain of people looking for someone to kill a spouse or a rival but getting blackmailed by teenagers pretending to be hit men in the process. — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026

Her tragicomic shopgirl of skid row belted her way into audiences’ hearts off-Broadway in 1982, and then in Frank Oz’s 1986 film opposite Rick Moranis. — ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026

For these two men are one and the same within Schnabel’s tragicomic universe. — A.d. Amorosi, SPIN, 6 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tragicomic

• anatomic
• antidromic
• astronomic
• autonomic
• cryptogamic
• diatomic
• economic
• ergonomic
• gastronomic
• monatomic
• psychonomic
• subatomic