# Tragedy vs Tragicness **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2013, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207 "2013-04-20T10:12:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/1 "2013-04-20T10:12:17Z")
A lot of people have been coming to use the word tragic when describing a person to mean, “that person’s a mess” or something similar. I’m sure you’ve heard it used that way by now. So when discussing the noun form of this phenomenon, would you use the word “tragedy” or “tragicness”? Like, “the tragedy in this dance club is crazy tonight,” or, “the tragicness of this online dating website is hilarious.” Which do you prefer in this connotation of the word? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/2 "2013-04-20T11:37:45Z")
To be honest, I don’t think I’d use a noun, but if I had to choose (or talked myself into a corner and **had** to noun it) I’d choose “tragicness”. To me, tragedy would mean an event or series of tragic events in its noun form. So a person’s life may be a tragedy, or that one moment where his wife ate his children in front of him may be the tragedy that led to his tragicness. That said, tragicness still sounds really awkward to me and I’d avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/3 "2013-04-20T12:02:42Z")
Tragicmentity, **drewto99**. Yours to use and abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/4 "2013-04-20T13:21:57Z")
As an Alestair Crowley-level practitioner of “that person’s a mess” I prefer to spell it “Tragick.” ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/5 "2013-04-20T14:19:55Z")
> [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](#): > > Tragicmentity, **drewto99**. Yours to use and abuse. I’d go with tragicosity. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/6 "2013-04-20T14:51:57Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’d go with tragicosity. Yes! That’s _very_ tragicative. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/7 "2013-04-20T15:35:45Z")
This thread is full of tragication I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/8 "2013-04-20T15:54:39Z")
Tragicality? Tragediosity? ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/9 "2013-04-20T16:04:52Z")
Trag-o-rama! ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/10 "2013-04-20T16:08:39Z")
super **tragic** aligisticexpialidocious-ness! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/11 "2013-04-20T16:15:31Z")
C’est le trag. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/12 "2013-04-20T17:16:41Z")
Neither, because it’s not nice to talk about people that way. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/13 "2013-04-20T17:26:35Z")
The noun form of “tragic” is “tragedy.” If that somehow doesn’t work with your use of “tragic,” you’re doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/14 "2013-04-21T05:05:21Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > The noun form of “tragic” is “tragedy.” If that somehow doesn’t work with your use of “tragic,” you’re doing it wrong. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tragedy-vs-tragicness/656207/15 "2013-04-21T19:18:47Z")
Tragitude. 🙂