cathartic

[kuh-thahr-tik]

adjective

of or relating to catharsis.

Also ca·thar·ti·cal. evacuating the bowels; purgative.

noun

a purgative.

Origin of cathartic

1605–15; < Late Latin catharticus < Greek kathartikós fit for cleansing. See catharsis, -tic

Related formsca·thar·ti·cal·ly, adverbca·thar·ti·cal·ness, nounhy·per·ca·thar·tic, adjectivenon·ca·thar·tic, adjective, nounnon·ca·thar·ti·cal, adjectivesem·i·ca·thar·tic, adjectiveun·ca·thar·tic, adjective

Synonyms for cathartic

3. laxative, physic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cathartically

Contemporary Examples of cathartically

Better still, Kill Your Friends, despite its 1997 setting, feels bracingly, cathartically, of the moment.
The Sound of Violence
Taylor Antrim
February 17, 2009

British Dictionary definitions for cathartically

cathartic

adjective

purgative

effecting catharsis

noun

a purgative drug or agent

Derived Formscathartically, adverb

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

Word Origin and History for cathartically

cathartic

adj.

1610s, of medicines, from Latin catharticus, from Greek kathartikos "fit for cleansing, purgative," from katharsis "purging, cleansing" (see catharsis). General sense is from 1670s. Related: Cathartical.

cathartically in Medicine

cathartic

[kə-thär′tĭk]

adj.

Inducing catharsis; purgative.

n.

An agent for purging the bowels, especially a laxative.