Word.ws English Dictionary

pyrrhic

/ˈpɪɹɪk//ˈpɪ.ɹɪk/

pyrrhic adjective: of or characterized by pyrrhics (metrical feet with two short syllables). Also the alternative letter-case form of Pyrrhic.

Adjective (1)

pyrrhic (not comparable)

  1. Of or characterized by pyrrhics (metrical feet with two short syllables).
  2. (Ancient Greece) Relating to Pyrrhus, a Macedonian king, or some of his costly victories he had while fighting Rome.

Noun

pyrrhic (plural pyrrhics)

  1. An Ancient Greek war dance.
  2. A metric foot with two short or unaccented syllables.

Adjective (2) capitalized: Pyrrhic

Pyrrhic (comparative more Pyrrhic, superlative most Pyrrhic)

  1. (not comparable, Ancient Greece) Of or relating to Pyrrhus (319/318–272 BCE), Greek general and statesman.
    • The Pyrrhic army lost the Pyrrhic war.
  2. (broadly) Achieved at too great a cost or detriment to have been worthwhile (as a victory, accomplishment, etc).
    • Although this syndrome is thought to resemble patterns of Pyrrhic revenge […]1993, Steven Berglas, Roy F. Baumeister, Your Own Worst Enemy: Understanding the Paradox, page 166
    • I feared a Pyrrhic victory: I had been vindicated intellectually, but I was afraid of being too right and seeing the system crumble under my feet.2010, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan, page 19

Also used as

pyrrhic is also the alternative letter-case form of Pyrrhic.

Forms of pyrrhic

Noun
pluralpyrrhics
Adjective
comparativemore Pyrrhic
superlativemost Pyrrhic
alternative formpyrrhic

Origin of pyrrhic

From Latin pyrrhichius (“dibrach”), from πυρρίχη (purrhíkhē, “war dance”), from πυρρός (purrhós, “flame-colored, red”), from πῦρ (pûr, “fire”).

From Pyrrhus + -ic.

Words formed from pyrrhic

Phrases with pyrrhic

Words that rhyme with pyrrhic

Questions about pyrrhic

What does pyrrhic mean?
Pyrrhic means of or characterized by pyrrhics (metrical feet with two short syllables).
What part of speech is pyrrhic?
Pyrrhic can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce pyrrhic?
Pyrrhic is pronounced /ˈpɪ.ɹɪk/ (UK).

Words near pyrrhic in the dictionary

  1. pyrrazolooxadiazepine
  2. pyrrazolooxadiazepines
  3. pyrrh-
  4. Pyrrha
  5. pyrrhexia
  6. pyrrhic
  7. pyrrhic victories
  8. pyrrhic victory
  9. pyrrhical
  10. pyrrhichius
  11. pyrrhicist

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pyrrhic (page history and authors); Pyrrhic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pyrrhic.wav.

Cite this entry: “pyrrhic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pyrrhic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.