Bathos

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Bathos \Ba"thos\ (b[=a]"th[o^]s), n. [Gr. ba`qos depth, fr.
     baqy`s deep.] (Rhet.)
     A ludicrous descent from the elevated to the low, in writing
     or speech; anticlimax.
     [1913 Webster] bath towel



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  bathos
       n 1: triteness or triviality of style
       2: insincere pathos [syn: {mawkishness}]
       3: a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one [syn:
           {anticlimax}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  35 Moby Thesaurus words for "bathos":
     anticlimax, bleeding heart, cloyingness, comedown, goo,
     hearts-and-flowers, heaviness, heaviness of heart, heavy heart,
     heavyheartedness, maudlinness, mawkishness, mush, mushiness,
     namby-pamby, namby-pambyism, namby-pambyness, nostalgia,
     nostomania, oversentimentalism, oversentimentality, pathos,
     romanticism, sadheartedness, sadness, sentiment, sentimentalism,
     sentimentality, slop, sloppiness, slush, soap opera, sob story,
     sweetness and light, tearjerker