catharsis

American  

[kuh-thahr-sis] / kəˈθɑr sɪs /

noun

catharses plural

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.

3. Psychiatry.

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

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

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catharsis British  

/ kəˈθɑːsɪs /

noun

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

3. purgation, esp of the bowels

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catharsis Cultural  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hypercatharsis
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• catharses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of catharsis

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

Explanation

Use the noun catharsis to refer to the experience a person can have of releasing emotional tension and feeling refreshed afterwards. Conceived by Aristotle as the cleansing effect of emotional release that tragic drama has on its audience, catharsis stems from a Greek verb meaning "to purify, purge." Today, it can be used to describe any emotional release, including a good long laugh or cry that is followed by a sense of balance and freshness afterwards.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

catharsis catharses

On AllMusic, Neil Yeung called it "a late-era treasure trove, external" full of "emotional catharsis and introspection".

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

"Fast forward a year later... this is catharsis - for Mexicans especially, but for Latinos in general."

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

"There was an amazing kind of collective catharsis," Wilde told AFP at the Hollywood premiere of her new film, in which she shares the screen with Seth Rogen, Edward Norton and Penelope Cruz.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

I suspect that no such event will ever occur, but if it does it probably won’t follow that sort of script or deliver a satisfactory catharsis.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

The third church offered passion and catharsis; it was a place where you truly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit inside you.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Drawing from his life in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Mr. Kahan writes about quiet moments in small towns that lead to grand catharses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

Both Emma and Peter are stuck in unsatisfactory career situations that were “supposed to be temporary”; you can smell the catharses coming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2022

“On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” is, at the same time, filled with showy, affected writing, with forced catharses and swollen quasi-profundities.

From New York Times ● May 27, 2019

This can make for a frustrating viewing experience in the moment, a film whose moral ambiguities and incomplete catharses don’t map onto a known horror template.

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2019

With midrange adult dramas increasingly being concerned with personal portraiture and psycho-emotional catharses, sharp, thematically pertinent movies are in danger of being relegated to metaphorical kitsch, however smart and well executed.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 23, 2017