Definition of "tragic" []

• Relating to or characteristic of dramatic tragedy or tragedies: tragic plays; the tragic hero. (adjective)
• Writing or performing in tragedy: a tragic poet. (adjective)
• Having the elements of tragedy; involving death, grief, or destruction: a tragic accident. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This organization epitomizes the term tragic-comedy for it ignores appalling human rights abuses in Sudan,"
• "One of his colleagues cautioned against overreacting to what he called a tragic and unusual accident."
• "Contrary to the almost mechanistic, rationalist view of human nature underpinning the neo-liberal, free-market vision, Brooks notes Taleb's more pessimistic, more conservative view: He subscribes to what he calls the tragic vision of humankind, which 'believes in the existence of inherent limitations and flaws in the way we think and act and requires an acknowledgement of this fact as a basis for any individual and collective action.'"