Catharsis Use the noun catharsis to refer to the experience | Word Czar 🌍

Catharsis

Use the noun catharsis to refer to the experience a person can have of releasing emotional tension and feeling refreshed afterwards.

Conceived by Aristotle as the cleansing effect of emotional release that tragic drama has on its audience, catharsis stems from a Greek verb meaning "to purify, purge."

Today, it can be used to describe any emotional release, including a good long laugh or cry that is followed by a sense of balance and freshness afterwards.