From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtragictra‧gic /ˈtrædʒɪk/ ●●○ adjective 1 DISASTERa tragic event or situation makes you feel very sad, especially because it involves death or suffering → comic The parents were not to blame for the tragic death of their son. Lillian Board’s death at 22 was a tragic loss for British athletics.2 [only before noun]ALAPT relating to tragedy in books or plays OPP comic a great tragic actortragic hero (=the main person in a tragedy)
Examples from the Corpus
tragic• Both sisters died in a tragic car accident.• They were to figure prominently among the more tragic case histories.• This trend has already had plenty of tragic consequences.• To Callahan, application of industrial methods to the schools had tragic consequences.• Her face was often thoughtful, and there was sometimes a tragic note in her voice.• Surely nothing in the world could be more tragic than that?• But here Golding offers the extremest instance of how it might be tragic too.• In a tragic twist of irony, Goldberg was taken seriously.tragic death• Let him know that something good has come out of his tragic death.• Today, the Mirror looks back to the first tragic deaths in one of the world's longest and more bitter conflicts.• Since his tragic death my daughter has carried on his good work.• Police believe the tragic death of 21 year old Lee Russell may be linked to drug abuse.• It concerns the tragic death on 5 February of six-year-old Carley Reavill who died in hospital of meningitis.• The news of his tragic death stunned everyone.tragic hero• Sentimental comedy possesses several characteristics that are incompatible with the classic concept of tragedy and the tragic hero.• But Laker, like all tragic heroes, had his fatal flaw, hubris.• Party chairman Chris Patten, the tragic hero of the hour, arrived shortly after 11.00 for a lengthy post-mortem.• In most cases the pesme sing of tragic heroes who met violent deaths, martyrs to the national cause.Origin tragic (1500-1600) Latin tragicus, from Greek tragikos, from tragoidia; → TRAGEDY 