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Catharsis

//kəˈθɑːsɪs// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A release of emotional tension after an overwhelming vicarious experience, resulting in the purging or purification of the emotions, as through watching a dramatic production (especially a tragedy). countable, uncountable

    "True, as the show has entered its later years, there have been more inspired moments of catharsis, but fewer unpredictable arcs and story beats, as a narrative nearing its conclusion is no longer attempting to shock."

  2. 2
    (psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions wordnet
  3. 3
    Any release of emotional tension to the same effect, more widely. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    purging the body by the use of a cathartic to stimulate evacuation of the bowels wordnet
  5. 5
    A purification or cleansing, especially emotional. countable, uncountable
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  1. 6
    A therapeutic technique to relieve tension by reestablishing the association of an emotion with the memory or idea of the event that first caused it, and then eliminating it by complete expression (called the abreaction). countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    Purging of the digestive system. countable, uncountable

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κάθαρσις (kátharsis, “cleansing, purging”), from καθαίρω (kathaírō, “I cleanse”). Coined in the dramatic-emotional sense by Aristotle.

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