catharsis

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“
It may feel cathartic to take a side, but the catharsis is at the expense of the innocents caught in the crossfire.

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun Medicine Purgation, especially for the digestive system.
  2. noun A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.
  3. noun A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.
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Examples

  • The case with the CURE telephone, the notes on Arcadi and Hassam and the others, the name of Hugo Donnelly, Smith's contact in the Department of the Interior, the preliminary printout research on the coffee plantation in Peruvina. —  Last Drop
  • The colors no longer alternated, and the numbers no longer descended. —  Phaze Doubt
  • It seemed to me that the laughter was a catharsis, and that it marked a new beginning for all of us. —  River God
  • He becomes a walking catharsis, a small-time Jesus who involuntarily takes our sins upon himself. —  Passage at Arms
  • It may feel cathartic to take a side, but the catharsis is at the expense of the innocents caught in the crossfire. —  US_Homepage_Featured_Stories
 

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. New Latin, from Greek katharsis, from kathairein, to purge, from katharos, pure.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. New Latin, from Greek κάθαρσις, purification, purgation, from καθαίρειν, cleanse, purify: see cathartic.
 

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/kæˈθɑrsɪs/
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