catharsis
English
editEtymology
editFrom Ancient Greek κάθαρσις (kátharsis, “cleansing, purging”), from καθαίρω (kathaírō, “I cleanse”). Coined in the dramatic-emotional sense by Aristotle.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editcatharsis (countable and uncountable, plural catharses)
- (drama) A release of emotional tension after an overwhelming vicarious experience, resulting in the purging or purification of the emotions, as through watching a dramatic production (especially a tragedy).
- 2019 April 14, Alex McLevy, “Winter is Here on Game of Thrones’ Final Season Premiere (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club[1], archived from the original on 18 December 2020:
- True, as the show has entered its later years, there have been more inspired moments of catharsis, but fewer unpredictable arcs and story beats, as a narrative nearing its conclusion is no longer attempting to shock.
- Any release of emotional tension to the same effect, more widely.
- A purification or cleansing, especially emotional.
- (psychology) A therapeutic technique to relieve tension by re-establishing the association of an emotion with the memory or idea of the event that first caused it, and then eliminating it by complete expression (called the abreaction).
- (medicine) Purging of the digestive system.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editdrama: release of emotional tension
|
any release of emotional tension
|
emotional purification
|
psychology: therapeutic technique
medicine: purging of the digestive system
|
Anagrams
editFrench
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Ancient Greek κάθαρσις (kátharsis).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editcatharsis f (plural catharsis)
Related terms
editFurther reading
edit- “catharsis”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Romanian
editEtymology
editBorrowed from French catharsis.
Noun
editcatharsis n (uncountable)
Declension
editsingular only | indefinite | definite |
---|---|---|
nominative-accusative | catharsis | catharsisul |
genitive-dative | catharsis | catharsisului |
vocative | catharsisule |
Categories:
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- en:Drama
- English terms with quotations
- en:Psychology
- en:Medicine
- French terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- French terms derived from Ancient Greek
- French 3-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French feminine nouns
- fr:Psychology
- fr:Drama
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian uncountable nouns
- Romanian neuter nouns