---
title: tragic — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tragic» in the school dictionary: Tragic means very sad, usually because someone has died or suffered something terrible. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# tragic

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Tragic, someone, serious play, dancing, His, ship · **What happens:** mean, die, suffer, do, end, be · **To what, where:** something, literature, disaster, tragic accident, tragic, fires · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«tragic» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [tragic in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tragic.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tragic means very sad, usually because someone has died or suffered something terrible.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:m1:1
# text = Tragic means very sad, usually because someone has died or suffered something terrible.
1	Tragic	tragic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	very	very	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	sad	sad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	usually	usually	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
7	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	nsubj	_	_
9	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	died	die	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	2	parataxis	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	suffered	suffer	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	10	conj	_	_
13	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	12	obj	_	_
14	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Tragic |  |  |  |  | sad *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **die** | present · perfect | someone |  |  |  |  | usually *property* | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 3 | **suffer** | participle | someone *not said here* | something |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer something=Stimulus |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In literature, tragic means to do with a tragedy, a serious play or story that ends in disaster for the main character.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:m2:1
# text = In literature, tragic means to do with a tragedy, a serious play or story that ends in disaster for the main character.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	literature	literature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	tragic	tragic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	ccomp	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	tragedy	tragedy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	serious	serious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	play	play	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	appos	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	_
17	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	18	nsubj	_	_
18	ends	end	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	acl:relcl	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	disaster	disaster	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	_
21	for	for	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
23	main	main	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	character	character	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | tragic |  |  | literature |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **do** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | with a tragedy | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **end** | present | a serious play or story |  |  | disaster |  | for the main character | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal, slang — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tragic can mean embarrassingly bad.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:m3:1
# text = Tragic can mean embarrassingly bad.
1	Tragic	tragic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	embarrassingly	embarrassingly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | Tragic |  |  |  |  | bad *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"His dancing is tragic."

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:m3e:1
# text = "His dancing is tragic."
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	dancing	dancing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	tragic	tragic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | His dancing |  |  |  |  | tragic *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **dance** *in a quote* |  | His *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom dancing «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ship sank in a tragic accident.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:x1:1
# text = The ship sank in a tragic accident.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sank	sink	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	tragic	tragic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	accident	accident	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sink** | past | the ship |  |  | a tragic accident |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is tragic that so many animals lose their homes in fires.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:x2:1
# text = It is tragic that so many animals lose their homes in fires.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	tragic	tragic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	obj	_	_
5	so	so	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
6	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	lose	lose	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
9	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	homes	home	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	fires	fire	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | tragic |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **lose** | present | many animals | tragic |  | fires |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The story has a tragic ending.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:x3:1
# text = The story has a tragic ending.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	tragic	tragic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	ending	ending	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the story | a tragic ending |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ending=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tragic hero makes one big mistake that ruins him.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:x4:1
# text = The tragic hero makes one big mistake that ruins him.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	tragic	tragic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	hero	hero	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
6	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	mistake	mistake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	ruins	ruin	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | the tragic hero | one big mistake |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset mistake=Product |
| 2 | **ruin** | present | one big mistake | hero |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(slang) "That haircut is tragic," my brother joked.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:x5:1
# text = (slang) "That haircut is tragic," my brother joked.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	slang	slang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	That	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	6	det	_	_
6	haircut	haircut	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	tragic	tragic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	_
11	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
13	joked	joke	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | that haircut |  |  |  |  | tragic *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **joke** *speech: other* | past | my brother |  |  |  |  |  | vn chit\_chat-37.6 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We heard the tragic news on the radio.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:x6:1
# text = We heard the tragic news on the radio.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	tragic	tragic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	radio	radio	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past | We | the tragic news |  | the radio |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer news=Stimulus |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She let her hands play in the hair of the tragic boy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tragic:x7:1
# text = She let her hands play in the hair of the tragic boy.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	let	let	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	play	play	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	tragic	tragic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | past | She |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **play** | present | her hands |  |  | the hair of the tragic boy |  |  | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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