Bathetic describes something characterized by triteness or excessive sentimentalism.
Bathetic describes something characterized by triteness or excessive sentimentalism.
| Front | bathetic \buh-THET-ik\ |
|---|---|
| Back | adjective Characterized by triteness or sentimentalism [When English speakers turned "apathy" into "apathetic" in the 1700s, using the suffix "-etic" to turn the noun into the adjective, they were inspired by "pathetic," the adjectival form of "pathos," from Greek "pathetikos." People also applied that bit of linguistic transformation to coin "bathetic." In the 19th century, English speakers added the suffix "-etic" to "bathos," the Greek word for "depth," which in English has come to mean "triteness" or "excessive sentimentalism." The result: the ideal adjective for the incredibly commonplace or the overly sentimental.] "Just before Ms. MacGraw utters the deathless catchphrase 'Love means never having to say you’re sorry,' Crimson Key members loudly implore her, 'Don't say it!' At the conclusion, when Mr. O'Neal repeats her bathetic utterance, they shout, 'Plagiarist!' And so it goes." |
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