Catharsis

ahd-5
  • noun. Purgation, especially for the digestive system.
  • 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.
  • noun. A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.
  • noun. undefined
  • noun. A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.
  • noun. The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.
  • The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
  • noun. In medicine, a natural or artificial purgation of any passage, especially the bowels. Also called apocatharsis.
  • noun. Used in English to express whatever Aristotle is supposed to have meant by the same word.
  • the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
  • noun. A natural or artificial purgation of any passage, as of the mouth, bowels, etc.
  • noun. The process of relieving an abnormal excitement by reëstablishing the association of the emotion with the memory or idea of the event that first caused it, and of eliminating it by complete expression (called the abreaction).
  • Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
  • noun. 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). Coined in this sense by Aristotle.
  • noun. Any release of emotional tension to the same effect, more widely.
  • noun. A purification or cleansing, especially emotional.
  • noun. A therapeutic technique to relieve tension.
  • noun. Purging of the digestive system.
  • WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
  • noun. purging the body by the use of a cathartic to stimulate evacuation of the bowels
  • noun. (psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions
  • Word Usage
    "You saw them disagreeing even on whether we can use the -- the term catharsis here."
    Hypernym
    Words that are more generic or abstract
    purge  purging  
    Rhyme
    Words with the same terminal sound
    Tarsus  tarsus  
    Same Context
    Words that are found in similar contexts
    Boyd  OxyContin  bumi  disinherit  eariy  
    Synonym
    Words with the same meaning