Definition of "catharsis" [ca•thar•sis]

• Medicine Purgation, especially for the digestive system. (noun)
• A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience. (noun)
• A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit. (noun)
• Psychology A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness. (noun)
• Psychology The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "You saw them disagreeing even on whether we can use the -- the term catharsis here."
• "The ancient Greeks used the term catharsis for the cleansing of both the body by medicine and the soul by art."
• "The term catharsis has been used for centuries as a medical term meaning a"