1
as in disaster
a sudden violent event that brings about great loss or destruction
the earthquake and the ensuing damage was the worst tragedy to ever befall the city
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in misfortune
bad luck or an example of this
it's the tragedy of many great artists not to be recognized for their genius until after they're dead
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tragedy
To be sure, Christians should pray and work for peace, rejoice when tragedy is averted and cheer when the Gospel is shared.
—
Abby McCloskey, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Okert and Bo had been on the job for only three months when tragedy struck at The Covenant School in Nashville, killing three students and three adults.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
The singer became close to these families and attended their reunions to commemorate the tragedy.
—NPR, 6 Nov. 2025
Flags are usually flown at half-staff after national tragedies or deaths of government officials, military members or other first responders.
—Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tragedy
Abby McCloskey, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Okert and Bo had been on the job for only three months when tragedy struck at The Covenant School in Nashville, killing three students and three adults.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
The singer became close to these families and attended their reunions to commemorate the tragedy.
—NPR, 6 Nov. 2025
Flags are usually flown at half-staff after national tragedies or deaths of government officials, military members or other first responders.
—Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tragedy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tragedy
Noun
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The journalists who rushed to the scene managed to jot down the names of about a dozen—the VIPs (there were three members of parliament on the train that day, which was a factor in the disaster) and a couple of servants.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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As a train barrels toward her near the final moments of the video, Perry spots a daisy on the tracks — seemingly a nod to her daughter — and dodges disaster.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Circumstances favoured them, but Bowen’s early misfortune and a West Ham penalty award which was overturned by VAR scarcely influenced them.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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Several reasons were to blame for the scary-low turnout, including a dearth of new releases as well as the misfortune of Halloween landing on a Friday, which meant families were distracted by trick-or-treating.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Back in the mid-2000s, adjustable-rate loans contributed to a financial calamity.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
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Whereas much of the original play unfolds as a steady stream of callers to the Tesmans’ estate, DaCosta cleverly restages these various interpersonal calamities against the backdrop of a lavish party.—
Abby Monteil,
Them.,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Carol, a reclusive and disgruntled bestselling romantasy author, exhorts her reticent audience of five immune English speakers to reclaim human agency against the milquetoast, obsequious blob and join her in a quest to reverse the happiness apocalypse.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
8 Nov. 2025
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Ilana presents herself as a stout-hearted reformer who’s being targeted by fascistic insurgents but is secretly evil enough to engineer an apocalypse.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tragedy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tragedy. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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