Pyrrhic victory
4
9.9
- noun
- /ˈpɪrɪk ˈvɪktəri/
:
victoria pírrica
- The general realized that the battle was a Pyrrhic victory when they lost many of their best soldiers.
Sometimes there are in life what we would call Pyrrhic victories.
- Sometimes there are in life what we would call Pyrrhic victories.
Examples
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Even if it still stands, it will be a pyrrhic victory.
Blog text (34) -
The Supreme Court's June decision on the ACA is looking more and more like a pyrrhic victory for coverage advocates.
Blog text (34) -
In a sense, it was a Pyrrhic victory.
Academic text (1999) -
All anyone can claim, at best, is a Pyrrhic victory.
Blog text (17) -
Such a pyrrhic victory is not the way to run a business.
Blog text (17) -
That victory, as you probably know, was a Pyrrhic victory for the Native Americans.
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Though it was somewhat of a pyrrhic victory, we celebrated that day.
Blog text (22) -
That would be a Pyrrhic victory on environmental, technological, and commercial grounds.
Academic text (2010) -
Still, some friends of Israel had reason to wonder whether Netanyahu's triumph was a Pyrrhic victory.
Academic text (2011) -
The battle between the Serb forces of Prince Lazar and the Ottoman Turks was at the time perceived as either a pyrrhic victory for the Turks or indecisive.
Academic text (1997)
How Costly
4
9.9
- Informal
1
7.1
∞
1.0
- Informal
7
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'pyrrhic' already carries the sense of a triumph that inflicts devastating losses, so combining it with 'victory' yields a meaning—'a victory won at great cost'—that is directly derivable from the constituents. While 'pyrrhic' is historically specific and less frequent, if a learner knows both word meanings the phrase is compositionally transparent and predictable.
Etymology
Pyrrhic victory comes from King Pyrrhus of ancient Greece, who won battles against Rome but lost so many soldiers that he warned another win would ruin him. That's why the phrase means a win that costs so much it is almost a 'defeat'.