English Explanatory Dictionary

poetic justice

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Synonym of poetical justice (“the idea that in a literary work such as a poem, virtue should be rewarded and vice punished”).
  2. The fact of someone experiencing what they deserve for their actions, especially when this happens in an ironic manner.

Pronunciation

/pəʊˌɛtɪk ˈd͡ʒʌstɪs/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-poetic justice.wav /poʊˌɛtɪk ˈd͡ʒʌstɪs/ [-ɾɪk-] En-us-poetic justice.oga

Word forms

poetic justice

Etymology

From poetic + justice, a variant of poetical justice, coined by the English literary critic Thomas Rymer (c. 1643 – 1713) in the work The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d and Examin’d (1678): see the quotation.

Synonyms

poetical justice

Related words

contrapasso have it coming just deserts karma payback
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on P Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary