pyrrhic

noun

an ancient Greek dance imitating the motions of warfare

a metrical unit with unstressed-unstressed syllables

adjective

of or relating to or resembling Pyrrhus or his exploits (especially his sustaining staggering losses in order to defeat the Romans)

of or relating to or containing a metrical foot of two unstressed syllables

of or relating to a war dance of ancient Greece

Roots

pyrrhospyrrh- · Greek · Pyrrhus (king whose costly victory)ikos-ic · Greek · pertaining to

Synonyms & related words for pyrrhic

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Words related to pyrrhic

Explore words related to pyrrhic — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include victory, victoriousness, victorious, triumphal, triumpher, triumphant, epinicion, triumphing. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does pyrrhic come from?

The word pyrrhic breaks down into 2 roots of Greek origin: pyrrh, from Greek pyrrhos (“Pyrrhus (king whose costly victory)”); and -ic, from Greek ikos (“pertaining to”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.