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
That year, millions of people all around the world consumed his work in incredible numbers following his sudden and tragic passing.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
In June of that year, the CDC began following this strange and tragic phenomenon.
—Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Following the tragic death of her beloved husband Bobby (Peter Krause), Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) will likely be leaning more on her family, including her two children, May and Harry.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
It’s called the Turquoise Alert System and stems from the tragic disappearance and death of 14-year-old Emily Pike of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tragic
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Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
In June of that year, the CDC began following this strange and tragic phenomenon.
—Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Following the tragic death of her beloved husband Bobby (Peter Krause), Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) will likely be leaning more on her family, including her two children, May and Harry.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
It’s called the Turquoise Alert System and stems from the tragic disappearance and death of 14-year-old Emily Pike of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 13 Aug. 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 21 Aug. 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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