Question 1 · Quick check
pathos
CEFRC2
/ˈpeɪˌθɒs/
noun
Türkçe translations
Translating…
In plain English
- 01
noun
A quality that causes feelings of pity or sadness.
- 02
noun
Extra detailA form of rhetoric in which the writer or speaker uses emotional appeals to the audience as the main form of persuasion.
Examples
I was intrigued by the pathos in your work.
The pathos is too much.
At a glance
Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale
- Senses
- 5
- Parts of speech
- 1
- Citations
- 3
- Synonyms
- 1
Also pronounced
- /ˈpæˌθoʊs/
- /ˈpɑːθɒs/
Deep Dive
noun
Extra meaningsAn author's attempt to evoke a feeling of pity or sympathetic sorrow for a character.
The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality.
In theology and existentialist ethics following Kierkegaard and Heidegger, a deep and abiding commitment of the heart, as in the notion of "finding your passion" as an important aspect of a fully lived, engaged life.
More examples
In context20 August 2018, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett in The Guardian, Young women are smashing it at Edinburgh as the #MeToo legacy kicks in Pritchard-McLean’s show is perfectly constructed, and at times deeply moving to the point where some audience members were near tear...
His voice had a genuine pathos now, and his large brown hands perceptibly trembled.
She could not see, for her whitish eyes were covered with a horny film. Oh, the horrible pathos of the sight! But she could still speak.
Related
Quick test
Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.
Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.
Nearby
Origin
noun
From Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos, “suffering”).