pathos
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (3)
- a quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow)“the film captured all the pathos of their situation”Synonyms: poignancy
- a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others“the blind are too often objects of pity”Synonyms: commiserationpityruth
- a style that has the power to evoke feelings
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Pathos \Pa"thos\ (p[=a]"th[o^]s), n. [L., from Gr. pa`qos a suffering, passion, fr. paqei^n, pas`chein, to suffer; cf. po`nos toil, L. pati to suffer, E. patient.] That quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, esp., that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality; as, the pathos of a picture, of a poem, or of a cry. [1913 Webster]
The combination of incident, and the pathos of catastrophe. --T. Warton. [1913 Webster]
1.The quality or character of those emotions, traits, or experiences which are personal, and therefore restricted and evanescent; transitory and idiosyncratic dispositions or feelings as distinguished from those which are universal and deep-seated in character; -- opposed to ethos. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
2.Suffering; the enduring of active stress or affliction. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]