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
Here is a look at the tragic human toll of the war over the past two years, by the numbers.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2025
In the book, Neeley opens up about getting pregnant while playing collegiate tennis at BYU, and her son’s father’s tragic death from a car accident that occurred before their child was born.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
Since the tragic incident, Zemfira’s dad Ruslan Mukhtarov created a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
The ship is so famous because its sinking was disastrous, but not tragic – Shackleton guided all 27 crew members to safety and was able to slowly remove cargo, supplies and boats before the vessel sank.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tragic
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2025
In the book, Neeley opens up about getting pregnant while playing collegiate tennis at BYU, and her son’s father’s tragic death from a car accident that occurred before their child was born.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
Since the tragic incident, Zemfira’s dad Ruslan Mukhtarov created a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
The ship is so famous because its sinking was disastrous, but not tragic – Shackleton guided all 27 crew members to safety and was able to slowly remove cargo, supplies and boats before the vessel sank.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 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 9 Oct. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share