We tend to get some words mixed up. They sound alike, they’re spelled similarly and they kinda-sorta mean the same thing – except they don’t.
Here is the perfect example:
Is the train wreck a travesty or a tragedy?
Did the court’s ruling count as a travesty of justice or a tragedy of justice?
Is the murder of a family a travesty or a tragedy? Or both? Or neither?
First, let’s define the two words.
Travesty -something that is shocking, upsetting, or ridiculous because it is not what it is supposed to be
Tragedy – a very bad event that causes great sadness and often involves someone’s death
Is the train wreck a travesty or a tragedy?
It’s a tragedy. It was a very bad event that caused great sadness and people probably died.
Did the court’s ruling count as a travesty of justice or a tragedy of justice?
It’s a travesty. It’s shocking, upsetting and perhaps ridiculous.
Is the murder of a family a travesty or a tragedy? Or both? Or neither?
It’s a tragedy. Plain and simple.