tragic
Making people feel very sad because something bad has happened.
Causing or involving intense sadness, especially due to serious misfortune, disaster, or death.
About a serious play or story that ends sadly, usually with the main character's downfall.
Relating to or characteristic of tragedy as a form of drama, typically involving serious themes and a sorrowful ending.
Very bad in quality or performance, sometimes said as a joke.
(Informal) Extremely bad, poor, or inadequate in quality, often used humorously or hyperbolically.
- Base: tragic
a tragedy waiting to happen
1Situation likely to end badly
A situation that will probably end in something very bad or harmful happening.
- Leaving those wires exposed is a tragedy waiting to happen.
- The unsafe bridge was a tragedy waiting to happen.
tragic flaw
1Fatal weakness causing downfall in tragedy
A weakness in a character that causes them to fail or die in a sad story.
- Pride is the tragic flaw of many heroes in literature.
- His inability to trust others was his tragic flaw.
tragic hero
1Main character destroyed by own flaw
A main character in a sad story whose own mistake or weakness causes their failure or death.
- Othello is often seen as a tragic hero because his jealousy leads to his downfall.
- In many classic plays, the tragic hero is noble but flawed.