overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

pathos.

The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpeɪˌθɒs/UK/ˈpɑːθɒs/UK/ˈpæθɒs/UK/ˈpeɪˌθɑs/US
  1. The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality.

    countable · uncountable
  2. A form of rhetoric in which the writer or speaker uses emotional appeals to the audience as the main form of persuasion.

    countable · rhetoric · uncountable
  3. An author's attempt to evoke a feeling of pity or sympathetic sorrow for a character.

    countable · uncountable
  4. In theology and existentialist ethics following Kierkegaard and Heidegger, a deep and abiding commitment of the heart, as in the notion of "finding your passion" as an important aspect of a fully lived, engaged life.

    countable · uncountable
  5. Suffering; the enduring of active stress or affliction.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos, “suffering”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

pathos has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

pathos studiopathos workshello, pathos

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.