bathetic
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bathetic
Explanation
Bathetic describes something that's overly sentimental, gushy, and worse yet — insincere. Soap operas are known for their bathetic emotionalism, because the characters cry and wail and scheme over the silliest things. Bathetic (the noun is bathos) comes from the Greek word for "depth" but not as in the ocean floor but as in "anticlimax" — a descent from the sublime to the ridiculous. Being bathetic is usually not done on purpose. A bathetic scene in a movie might have a character fall to her knees and scream, "Nooooooo!" because her son left his socks on the floor again. Don't confuse bathetic with pathetic, which means "pitiful."
Vocabulary lists containing bathetic
Sickly Sweet Treats: Sappy and Insincere Valentine Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That they’re all various degrees of bonkers and/or bathetic is the joke, though it’s not always easy to distinguish between this more strenuously underlined absurdity and regular Wesworld whimsy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2021
All Kubrick did was make “The Shining” 10 times scarier and 75 percent less bathetic than the book.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2020
There’s much that appears self-serious, even as it relishes the twee and bathetic.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2020
Not to denigrate the form, exactly, but the Conners’ iconic crochet-covered couch has never seemed so bathetic.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 6, 2018
But, in its context, this isn’t delivered for comic or bathetic effect.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
