hubris
Downfall-inducing confidence
Hubris is a noun that characterizes excessive pride or arrogance: It is sheer hubris to think that because you’re at the top, you can’t fail.
Usually, those who are accused of showing hubris are in a position of power or authority.
Journalists use the word more than anyone else, though hubris is also common in writing about the arts because it’s frequently displayed in plays and films.
Unjustified certainty in oneself
- presumptionBelief held without proof
- conceitExaggerated self-admiration
- egotismInflated sense of self-importance
- self-importanceExaggerated sense of significance
haughtiness · smugness · vanity · pomposity · superciliousness · imperiousness · high-handedness · disdainfulness
Fatal error causing downfall
- catharsisPurification through emotional expression
- fatal flawRuinous character defect
- OedipusTragic Greek king
- MacbethAmbitious thane's downfall
King Lear · Antigone · Creon · Othello · Coriolanus · Sophocles · Aeschylus · Euripides
Persistent source of ruin
- ruinComplete destruction or collapse
- consequencesResults of actions taken
- collapseSudden structural failure
- disgraceLoss of honor
demise · undoing · destruction · catastrophe · defeat · humiliation · retribution · comeuppance
overconfidence
Unjustified certainty in oneself
- presumptionBelief held without proof
- conceitExaggerated self-admiration
- egotismInflated sense of self-importance
self-importance · haughtiness · smugness · vanity · pomposity · superciliousness · imperiousness · high-handedness · disdainfulness · contemptuousness
hamartia
Fatal error causing downfall
- catharsisPurification through emotional expression
- fatal flawRuinous character defect
- OedipusTragic Greek king
Macbeth · King Lear · Antigone · Creon · Othello · Coriolanus · Sophocles · Aeschylus · Euripides · Shakespeare
nemesis
Persistent source of ruin
- ruinComplete destruction or collapse
- consequencesResults of actions taken
- collapseSudden structural failure
disgrace · demise · undoing · destruction · catastrophe · defeat · humiliation · retribution · comeuppance · fall
Icarus
Mythical overreacher who fell
- PrometheusFire-stealing benefactor of mortals
- NemesisGreek deity of vengeance
- ZeusGreek sky god
Achilles · Narcissus · Tantalus · Sisyphus · Olympus · Arachne · Niobe · Ajax · Agamemnon · Titans
- Greek & RomanAchilles heel, Trojan horse, Pandora's box, Midas touch, Odyssey
- Mythological WordsAchilles heel, Adonis, aegis, ambrosia, Apollo
- Greek classicsHomer, Iliad, Plato, Odyssey, Aristotle
- Julius CaesarJulius Caesar, Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Marc Antony
- Trojan WarTroy, Achilles, Hector, Helen, Odysseus
- dramaturgydramaturgy, dramaturg, dramatic structure, dramatic technique, dramatic form