bathos
bathos definition
bathos (bā′t̸häs′, -t̸hôs′)
noun
- an abrupt, often ludicrous change from the lofty to the ordinary or trivial in writing or speech; unintentional anticlimax
- false pathos; sentimentality
- 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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