tragic flaw

plural tragic flaws

1. chiefly literary criticismA personality trait or other characteristic of a real or fictional individual which is immoral, destructive, or otherwise faulty and which leads to the ruin or profound suffering of that individual.

   The control-freak instinct runs too deep. . . . This runs the risk of becoming a tragic flaw.

   2002 February 25, J. F. O. McAllistair, “Blair the Bungee Jumper”, in Time

   2 more examples

   When a heroine's tragic flaw takes the form of uncontrollable love for an outlaw, the paths of momentary glory can lead but to defeat.

   1948 May 31, Harold V. Cohen, "'Green Grass of Wyoming'" (film review), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p. 28 (retrieved 5 July 2012)

   If the jury, who begin their final deliberations tomorrow, find the black All-American hero guilty of murdering his white wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, they will have concluded that he succumbed to the oldest tragic flaw in the book, the green-eyed monster of jealousy.

   1995 October 1, John Carlin, “OJ's guilt is a black and white choice”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 05 Jul 2012

   Synonyms: hamartia