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

• hypercatharsis
  noun

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

“Sheep” aspires for Spielbergian catharsis — one scene seems to consider itself an art-house take on “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” — but the human characters come off as mechanical as the little robot boy.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Full of sorrow and restraint, the opening verses are entombed by muffled synths before Liene explodes into an operatic wail of catharsis in the dying moments.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

You might be tempted, with every faraway look in Christian Petzold’s subtly moving “Miroirs No. 3,” to hope for that soothing, enlightened release so often served as catharsis in tales of loss and healing.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

The great tragedies permit catharsis, and their ruinous endings are part of that process.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

A ripple of nervous laughter rolled through the church, a catharsis for Moss.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro