pathos
Americannoun
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the quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity, or of sympathetic and kindly sorrow or compassion.
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pity.
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Obsolete. suffering.
noun
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the quality or power, esp in literature or speech, of arousing feelings of pity, sorrow, etc
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a feeling of sympathy or pity
a stab of pathos
Etymology
Origin of pathos
First recorded in 1570–80; from Greek páthos “suffering, sensation, experience,” akin to páschein “to suffer, feel, be affected”; cf. pathetic ( def. )
Compare meaning
How does pathos compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Pathos is a quality that stirs emotions. A song with a lot of pathos hits you right in the heart. You ever notice how some songs or movies appeal to your brains, while others appeal to your feelings? The ones that are all about feeling are full of pathos, an appeal to emotions that originally meant "suffering" in Greek. Often, this word has to do specifically with pity and sympathy: when someone tells a story about people suffering that makes you feel for them, that's pathos.
Vocabulary lists containing pathos
Argumentative Writing
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AP English Lit exam terms
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The AP English Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms 1
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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.
There’s a certain tone in my voice, a register he didn’t want me to use, a register I often use for pathos or gravitas.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
That gossip set the tone for the story of Hollywood: adventure, pathos, arrogance, comedy and a dramatic twist ending.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2026
A multiple Emmy-award winner, “The Pitt” has found what may be the perfect remedy for people with short attention spans, a weakness for pathos and a hunger for detail of the modern-medical variety.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026
But Ms. MeLampy is a gifted writer who works her grandmother’s material into her book with sparing pathos and plenty of humor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
There were so many questions they wanted to ask, but even Drave, the explosionist, felt the pathos of the moment and held his tongue.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
