pyrrhic
5
9.9
- adjective
- /ˈpɪrɪk/
:
pírrico
- Although they won the battle, it was a pyrrhic victory, costing them many lives.
- a pyrrhic victory
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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Still, some friends of Israel had reason to wonder whether Netanyahu's triumph was a Pyrrhic victory.
Academic text (2011) -
Even when the outcome of such a challenge is successful, the victory may be Pyrrhic.
Academic text (1997) -
In a sense, it was a Pyrrhic victory.
Academic text (1999) -
Any win will be Pyrrhic in nature and absolutely no win for the country at large.
Blog text (8) -
That victory, as you probably know, was a Pyrrhic victory for the Native Americans.
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Sometimes there are in life what we would call Pyrrhic victories.
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However, this apparent victory for American foreign policy may ultimately prove to be Pyrrhic.
Academic text (2016) -
Though it was somewhat of a pyrrhic victory, we celebrated that day.
Blog text (22) -
If all we accomplish right now is cutting our deficit, but we do not invest in these things which made our nation rich, it will be a pyrrhic victory.
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But because of these intraparty divisions—and growing polarization in the country at large—each was a pyrrhic victory.
Academic text (1997)
Compounds
How Costly
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Pyrrhic (costly victory) comes from King Pyrrhus, who won battles but lost so many men that his victories felt like defeats, so a 'pyrrhic' victory is one won at great cost. That is why we use pyrrhic to mean a win that almost feels like a loss.