peripety
/pəˈrɪpɪti/
noun
- A sudden change in circumstances, especially in a literary work, that reverses the expected outcome.
- The story's peripety made the happy couple suddenly face a terrible secret.
- The play's peripety comes when the villain accidentally reveals his own guilt.
- Readers were stunned by the peripety that transformed the poor beggar into a long-lost prince.