noun
1 event/situation that causes great sadness
ADJECTIVE
▪ absolute , appalling ( esp. BrE ), awful , big , enormous , great , horrible , horrific , major , real , terrible , unspeakable
▪ family , human , personal , private
▪ national
▪ recent
VERB + TRAGEDY
▪ end in
▪
A family's outing ended in ~ when their boat capsized.
▪ be dogged by ( esp. BrE ), experience , face , suffer
▪ cause
▪
We don't know what caused the ~.
▪ avert , avoid , prevent
▪ overcome
▪ survive
▪ see , witness
▪ exploit
TRAGEDY + VERB
▪ befall sb , happen , occur , strike (sb)
▪
Tragedy struck when their eight-year-old daughter was knocked down by a car.
▪ unfold
▪
She had seen the ~ unfold.
▪ affect sb/sth , touch sb
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ for sb
▪
The closure of the factory is a ~ for the whole community.
2 serious play with a sad ending
ADJECTIVE
▪ classical , Greek , Jacobean , Shakespearean
▪ revenge
VERB + TRAGEDY
▪ write