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bathos definition

bathos (bā′t̸häs′, -t̸hôs′)

noun

  1. an abrupt, often ludicrous change from the lofty to the ordinary or trivial in writing or speech; unintentional anticlimax
  2. false pathos; sentimentality
  3. hackneyed quality; triteness

Etymology: Gr bathos, depth < bathys: see bathy-

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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