peripety
- noun
- /pəˈrɪpɪti/
- Literature
:
peripeteia
- The plot twists in the play included a surprising peripety, turning the hero's victory into defeat.
Examples
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In the novel, the sudden death of the main character was a dramatic peripety that shocked the readers.
-
She is grotesque by virtue of the distortion, exaggeration, and excess of her stature, but also by what she represents: transformation, peripety, reversal of fortune from high to low, and vice versa.
Academic text (2017) -
The finest form of discovery is one attended by peripeties.
Academic text (2003) -
Her financial troubles led to a peripety that changed her life overnight, leaving her in a much better position.
Synonyms
343
3.4
A sudden change in a situation or story
232
4.1
A sudden change in a story or situation that surprises people
35
4.1
A sudden change in a situation that makes plans or results different
5
9.9
A change in life or luck that is often sudden and unpleasant
2
4.2
A surprising event in a story that changes the expected outcome
A sudden unexpected event in a story that changes a character's luck
A sudden change in a story when a character's luck turns bad
Antonyms
How Sudden
Surface Forms
Etymology
Peripety comes from the Greek word peripeteia, built from peri- 'around', as in perimeter, and a root that meant 'to fall' or 'to turn'. So a peripety is a sudden 'turn' or reversal in a story that changes a character's fate.