pathos
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.
There’s a certain tone in my voice, a register he didn’t want me to use, a register I often use for pathos or gravitas.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
Gertrude never quite comes into focus, but the pathos of Ophelia, maddened by grief, is enhanced by the simple yet forceful way Izzard helplessly pounds her chest.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026
A multiple Emmy-award winner, “The Pitt” has found what may be the perfect remedy for people with short attention spans, a weakness for pathos and a hunger for detail of the modern-medical variety.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026
But Ms. MeLampy is a gifted writer who works her grandmother’s material into her book with sparing pathos and plenty of humor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
It participates in the pathos appeal inasmuch as it stirs an audience’s emotions to laughter—but more importantly, it participates in the ethos appeal, inasmuch as laughter is based on a set of common assumptions.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Vocabulary lists containing pathos
Argumentative Writing
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AP English Lit exam terms
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The AP English Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms 1
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