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pathos

[pey-thos, -thohs, -thaws] / ˈpeɪ θɒs, -θoʊs, -θɔs /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Berlant describes their shared sensibility, the ability to simultaneously play comedy and pathos, as a kind of freedom.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

And in the crucial scene when Sonny is put on the phone with Leon, whom he calls his wife—Sonny’s motive is to pay for Leon’s sex-reassignment surgery—he strikes moving notes of pathos.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Instead it ventures into something creator Seth MacFarlane and company usually avoid, genuine pathos.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

That gossip set the tone for the story of Hollywood: adventure, pathos, arrogance, comedy and a dramatic twist ending.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2026

As I argued fleetingly in my discussion of pathos, the joke can do more than just perk up a drowsing audience.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith




Vocabulary lists containing pathos


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