Bathos

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈbeɪθɒs/

Origin

From Ancient Greek βάθος (bathos, "depth"). Used metaphorically from 1638 (Robert Sanderson).

First used ironically by Pope (Bathos, 1727), in contrast to ὕψος (hypsos, "sublimity").

Full definition of bathos

Noun

1. Depth, bottom.
2. An abrupt change in style, usually from high to low; an unintended transition of style; an anticlimax.
3. Apparent hyperbole or praise marked by comic dilution or digression.
4. Triteness; triviality; banality.
5. Overly sentimental and exaggerated pathos.I like you more than I can say; but I'll not sink into a bathos of sentiment: Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte - 1847.

Anagrams

• TAH-BSO