tragedy.

1. An event involving serious suffering, destruction, or loss.

2. A dramatic form or work centered on suffering, downfall, or a disastrous outcome.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• human tragedy
• personal tragedy

On the page

The report kept the human tragedy in view.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Countable or uncountable by context; countable singular tragedy; plural tragedies. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.