bathos
Say it: BAY-thoss /ˈbeɪθɒs/ · noun
What “bathos” means
A sudden, ridiculous drop from something serious to something trivial.
More precisely: An absurd drop from the serious or lofty to the trivial or ridiculous.
Example: “His wedding speech went from 'eternal love' to 'and free parking', a moment of pure bathos.”
When to use it
When a grand speech or emotional scene suddenly lands on something embarrassingly ordinary, whether deliberately or by accident.
Similar words
anticlimax, letdown, comedown
Where it comes from
Greek 'depth'; given this sense by Alexander Pope in 1727.
Quick check
A poem builds towards the meaning of life, then ends by worrying about missing socks. What is that ridiculous drop?
pathos or bathos?
Show the answer
bathos
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