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catharsis

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ca⋅thar⋅sis

  [kuh-thahr-sis]
Use catharsis in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ses  [-seez] .
1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.
2. Medicine/Medical. purgation.
3. Psychiatry.
a. psychotherapy that encourages or permits the discharge of pent-up, socially unacceptable affects.
b. discharge of pent-up emotions so as to result in the alleviation of symptoms or the permanent relief of the condition.
Origin:
1795–1805; < NL < Gk kátharsis a cleansing, equiv. to kathar- (var. s. of kathaírein to cleanse, deriv. of katharós pure) + -sis -sis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ca·thar·sis   (kə-thär'sĭs)   
n.   pl. ca·thar·ses (-sēz)

  1. Medicine Purgation, especially for the digestive system.

  2. 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. A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.

  4. Psychology

    1. A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.

    2. The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.


[New Latin, from Greek katharsis, from kathairein, to purge, from katharos, pure.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

catharsis [(kuh-thahr-suhs)]

An experience of emotional release and purification, often inspired by or through art. In psychoanalysis, catharsis is the release of tension and anxiety that results from bringing repressed feelings and memories into consciousness.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

catharsis 
1803, from Gk. katharsis "purging, cleansing," from kathairein "to purify, purge," from katharsos "pure." Originally medical; of emotions from 1872; psychotherapy sense first recorded 1909, in Brill's translation of Freud. Cathartic is 1612, from L. catharticus.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ca·thar·sis
Variant: also ka·thar·sis /k&-'thär-s&s/
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural ca·thar·ses also ka·thar·ses /-"sEz/
1 : PURGATION
2 : elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression —compare ABREACTION
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

catharsis ca·thar·sis (kə-thär'sĭs)
n. pl. ca·thar·ses (-sēz)

  1. Purgation.

  2. A psychological technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.

  3. The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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