Dramatic means sudden and large (a dramatic rise in prices) or striking and impressive (dramatic views). About a person, it means they exaggerate everything: Don't be so dramatic. It can also mean “connected with the theatre”: a dramatic society is an amateur theatre group. But to describe a very difficult, almost hopeless situation, use serious, critical or desperate, and call a sad story sad or tragic.
dramatic: will you get the meaning right?
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a dramatic + increase/fall/change; rise/fall + dramatically; dramatic + views/scenery; Don't be so dramatic!
- There has been a dramatic increase in rent prices in our city over the last two years.
- The hotel has dramatic views of the mountains from every balcony.
- It's only a small scratch on the car, so stop being so dramatic about it.
What changed
First versionDoctors say the situation in the hospital is dramatic because there aren't enough nurses.
RevisionDoctors say the situation in the hospital is critical because there aren't enough nurses.
It is tempting to call a very difficult situation dramatic. But English dramatic is about suddenness and spectacle, so the situation is dramatic is unclear: either everything changed suddenly, or something spectacular happened. When a situation is dangerous and needs urgent action, say critical or serious.
Drastic is also about big changes, but it describes harsh, extreme measures that someone takes: The company took drastic measures and closed three offices. Dramatic shows how strongly and visibly something has changed: a dramatic change in the weather.
Your turn
During the pandemic, the number of tourists in the city fell ___, from two million to just 300,000 a year.
Show the answer
dramatically — What matters here is how much the number of tourists fell, and the size of a change is expressed by dramatically, “sharply, significantly”. Tragically means “in a tragic way” and describes people's sad fate, not the size of a change: He died tragically young.
Describe a noticeable change in recent years: in your city, at work or in your own life. Say what changed and by how much.
Since our office moved to a four-day week, the number of sick days has fallen dramatically, from about forty to ten a year.
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