Patheticism
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Pathetic behavior. uncountable, usually
"And can there be a properer Æra for the Revival of Genius and Public Spirit than that of the Ad———n of the Great Man who has been recommended by the One to his diſtreſſed and aged K—g, (ſo familiarly ventures to ſpeak the Patheticiſm of Loyalty) and endeared to his exulting Fellow-Subjects by the Other; and to whom, ſhould we be unhappily and unexpectedly diſappointed, we have a Right to complain, in the Words of Tacitus, that “Succeſſere magis alii Homines quam alii Mores!”"
Example
More examples"And can there be a properer Æra for the Revival of Genius and Public Spirit than that of the Ad———n of the Great Man who has been recommended by the One to his diſtreſſed and aged K—g, (ſo familiarly ventures to ſpeak the Patheticiſm of Loyalty) and endeared to his exulting Fellow-Subjects by the Other; and to whom, ſhould we be unhappily and unexpectedly diſappointed, we have a Right to complain, in the Words of Tacitus, that “Succeſſere magis alii Homines quam alii Mores!”"
Etymology
From pathetic + -ism. First attested in 1758.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.