catharsis

[ kuh-thahr-sis ]
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noun,plural ca·thar·ses [kuh-thahr-seez]. /kəˈθɑr siz/.
  1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.

  2. Medicine/Medical. purgation.

  1. Psychiatry.

    • psychotherapy that encourages or permits the discharge of pent-up, socially unacceptable affects.

    • discharge of pent-up emotions so as to result in the alleviation of symptoms or the permanent relief of the condition.

Origin of catharsis

1
First recorded in 1795–1805; from New Latin, from Greek kátharsis “a cleansing,” equivalent to kathar- (variant stem of kathaírein “to cleanse,” derivative of katharós “pure”) + -sis -sis

Other words from catharsis

  • hy·per·ca·thar·sis, noun

Words Nearby catharsis

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How to use catharsis in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for catharsis

catharsis

/ (kəˈθɑːsɪs) /


nounplural -ses
  1. (in Aristotelian literary criticism) the purging or purification of the emotions through the evocation of pity and fear, as in tragedy

  2. psychoanal the bringing of repressed ideas or experiences into consciousness, thus relieving tensions: See also abreaction

  1. purgation, esp of the bowels

Origin of catharsis

1
C19: New Latin, from Greek katharsis, from kathairein to purge, purify

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for catharsis

catharsis

[ (kuh-thahr-suhs) ]


An experience of emotional release and purification, often inspired by or through art. In psychoanalysis, catharsis is the release of tension and anxiety that results from bringing repressed feelings and memories into consciousness.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.