Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A writer of tragedies.
- n. One who performs tragic roles in the theater.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A writer of tragedies.
- n. An actor of tragedy; by extension, an actor or player in general.
Wiktionary
- n. An actor who specializes in tragic roles.
- n. A playwright who writes tragedies.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A writer of tragedy.
- n. An actor or player in tragedy.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an actor who specializes in tragic roles
- n. a writer (especially a playwright) who writes tragedies
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek τραγωδός (tragodos, "tragedy singer, tragic poet"), from τράγος (tragos, "male goat") + αοιδός (aoidos, "singer"), a reference to the goat-satyrs of the theatrical plays of the Dorians. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“A tragedian is a hard character only on the stage, but the comedian is the comedian always.”
“Our tragedian was a rough joker off the stage; our prime clown the most peevish mortal living.”
“It is a discussion on the nature of love, taking the form of a group of speeches, both satirical and serious, given by a group of men at a symposium or a wine drinking gathering at the house of the tragedian Agathon at Athens.”
“She gives us Sondheim the romantic ("Take the Moment"), Sondheim the trickster (his little known Gershwin homage "More"), Sondheim the tragedian ("Loving You") and Sondheim the showman ("Let Me Entertain You").”
“Fascinated with the meeting of memory and language, adept at conjuring states of mind, and haunted by the violence wracking his homeland, Hemon is a stoic tragedian and a brilliant satirist.”
“Joni Mitchell: In a way, I think I entered straight into my tragedian period, as my work is set against the stupid, destructive way we live on this planet.”
“Dan Donohue, who plays the title role in the OSF production of "Hamlet" that I praised in this space last week, doubles as the snobbish headwaiter of "She Loves Me," and he turns out to be as good a comedian as he is a tragedian.”
“The wreck and ruin of the Bush years was the powerful tragedian backdrop to Obama's impassioned shouts to remake America.”
“The class watched me intently as I convulsed, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed to the floor in a dramatically reenacted tragedian stage death.”
“Having started out largely as a screen tragedian, Streep appears to be having a blast these days making movies like Mama Mia and the Devil Wears Prada.”
The Race To Replace Teddy: Why Isn’t the GOP Candidate Campaigning on Immigration?
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘tragedian’.
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phrontistery-t
from phrontistery.info
tabacosis, tabanid, tabaret, tabati?re, tabby, tabefaction, tabellary, tabellion, tabernacle, tabernacular, tabescent, tabific and 930 more...
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EN - eloquence in public speaking
Key words from "The Training of a Public Speaker" by Grenville Kleiser (New York and London, 1920)
beget, imago, Vespasian, languid, studied, judgment, dwindle, artifice, contribute, observe, sonorous, gladiator and 264 more...
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colleen's words
yellow, green, pie, blue, fur, people, incense, book, brown, avuncular, mountain, fog and 1316 more...
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Writer, Writer!
columnist, contributor, novelist, poet, wordsmith, stringer, freelancer, ghostwriter, journalist, correspondent, essayist, speechwriter and 99 more...
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Oofy
States of being
seeress, honey bucket, donkeyman, poopyhead, halfwit, vixenish, galoot, hoity toity, shitkicker, miserabilist, wanker, clueless and 261 more...
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nether's list
adroit, recrudescent, ecclesiastical, canaille, philologian, ignoble, dilettante, vicegerant, gilt, enfiladed, somnambulism, gamin and 215 more...
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noele's list
vertiginous, verdant, mellifluous, serpentine, verdigris, traject, amaranthine, luminous, phosphorescent, temerous, cerulean, shapeshifter and 531 more...
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Polymorphously Pretentious Patois
epicurean, hermitage, virago, aplomb, riposte, undulate, calliope, terpsichore, polyphonic, quixotic, sanguine, chimera and 81 more...
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The Awakening
Interesting words from "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin.
befurbelowed, lugger, pension, quadroon, bonbons, peignoir, rockaway, friandises, creole, accouchements, vouchsafe, remonstrate and 30 more...
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Writers
writer, scribbler, scrawler, author, wordsmith, novelist, scriptwriter, tragedian, dramatist, dramaturge, poetaster, scribe and 27 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for tragedian.
colleen Does it not also refer to actors who perform said tragedies? The singers of goat songs, as it were? Nov 18, 2007
yarb It is a pretty cool word. Nov 18, 2007
tragedianxarrest I love this word. Hence the user name. Nov 18, 2007