hamartia

1 9.9

A character flaw that brings a tragic hero to ruin

noun
/həˈmɑːr.ti.ə/

Literature

: hamartia

Hamartia, from the Greek, is the fault or error that entails the destruction of the tragic hero.

Walt's narcissistic ego and the bruising of it is what his hamartia is.

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Examples

The character's hamartia was his excessive pride, which caused him great suffering.
In many tragic plays, the hero's hamartia ultimately leads to their downfall.
Hamartia is the tragic flaw.

Fiction book (2002)
There's always a hamartia, isn't there?

The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
Aristotle defined hamartia as a flaw that brings about the ruin of a noble character.

Synonyms

weakness

vshamartia

344 1.7

A fault in a person or thing that makes them less effective

is a specific fatal character error that directly leads to downfall

flaw

vshamartia

113 3.3

A weakness in a person's character that causes problems

is the deadly variant of such a defect that causes a tragic end

Achilles' heel

vshamartia

Informal

11 6.3

A small but serious weakness in someone or something that can cause failure

is a much larger fatal character error that brings complete downfall

tragic flaw

vshamartia

Literature

1 7.8

A weak part of a main character that causes their ruin in a serious story

is the specific classical term for that same fatal character fault

Surface Forms

hamartia singular

hamartiae plural

Etymology

Hamartia comes from an old Greek verb hamartanein, which means 'to miss the mark' or 'make a mistake'. A helpful image is a hero aiming at a goal but missing — that inner 'mistake' or character error leads to their downfall, so hamartia means the tragic flaw that causes a hero to fail.