Meaning
wicked, wretched, bleak
- wicked, evil, sinister
- bleak, wretched, gloomy
- (archaic or literary) sad, sorrowful
In a sentence
Un tristo presagio incombeva sul destino della città.
A sinister omen hung over the city's fate.
Il protagonista del racconto è un uomo d'animo tristo.
The protagonist of the story is a man of wicked spirit.
Quella vecchia casa abbandonata aveva un aspetto davvero tristo.
That old abandoned house had a truly bleak appearance.
Word forms (4)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| tristo | masculine · singular |
| trista | feminine · singular |
| tristi | masculine · plural |
| triste | feminine · plural |
Usage notes
- Mostly literary or old-fashioned in modern Italian. For everyday 'sad,' use triste instead.
- Before a noun, tristo often means morally bad or miserable, not simply emotionally sad.
- Agreement is regular: tristo, trista, tristi, triste. Don't confuse masculine plural tristi with the adjective triste.