How to Use catharsis in a Sentence

catharsis

noun
  • Acting is a means of catharsis for her.
  • Painting is a catharsis for me.
  • As soon as we emerged from the gates of the White House, I became aware of that sea of faces.  … I wanted to cry for them and with them, but it was impossible to permit the catharsis of tears.
    Lady Bird Johnson, 24 Nov. 1963
  • All of us Mary Pages have talked about the lack of catharsis in the play.
    Barbara Chai, WSJ, 11 July 2018
  • But the catharsis of their heart-to-hearts just feels so good!
    Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 15 Oct. 2019
  • The fact of killing has carried a sort of catharsis with it.
    John Dos Passos, National Review, 28 Sep. 2020
  • Halsey’s songs seem to come from a place of pain or catharsis.
    Joe Lynch, Billboard, 21 Oct. 2021
  • The movie that can wring catharsis out of that will be a long time coming.
    Josephine Livingstone, New Republic, 22 Aug. 2017
  • And making the film was, in a way, a form of catharsis before the event, which seems very strange.
    Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2022
  • At the same time, the novel speaks back to this desire for catharsis.
    Will Boast, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Apr. 2018
  • Killing Howard will be a form of justice and catharsis.
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2023
  • When the ball found the bottom of the net, DeRozan unleashed a primal scream of pure catharsis.
    Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 12 Apr. 2021
  • Collins isn’t the only star who’s used hairstyling as catharsis.
    Edward Segarra, USA TODAY, 22 Dec. 2022
  • By the end of the episode, most of our favorite surgeons have found at least some catharsis.
    Laura Bradley, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
  • Landis, for his part, views his new book as a form of catharsis.
    Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Oct. 2023
  • There’s catharsis for Queenie by the end, and for the viewers lucky enough to go on the journey with her.
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 13 June 2024
  • The catharsis of tragedy, the cleansing of the human mind, can feel a little like a Finnish sauna, painful and good at the same time.
    Time, 17 Apr. 2021
  • In the midst of a crisis, great late-night TV can feel like catharsis, even a kind of lifeline.
    Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2023
  • The Loneliest Time was Jepsen’s attempt to spin catharsis out of tragedy.
    Keaton Bell, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2022
  • Metellus worked the first marathon after 9/11 and understands the catharsis the race can give the city.
    Phil Wahba, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2021
  • After 10 years and 18 movies, catharsis isn't too much to expect or to strive for.
    Justin Chang, latimes.com, 24 Apr. 2018
  • Springsteen sang of being trapped on the edge of catharsis, and the music seemed to want to suspend time.
    Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2024
  • Everybody wants to have that form of catharsis in their lives.
    Gordon Cox, Variety, 17 June 2023
  • This year, though, the movies might offer an even deeper kind of catharsis.
    Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2021
  • Neely turned to art as a way to process her trauma, and some readers will find catharsis here.
    Renata Sancken, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Sep. 2023
  • Michael, the white father of Leonie’s children, is the only glimpse of catharsis on the horizon—at least for Leonie.
    Ismail Muhammad, Slate Magazine, 18 Sep. 2017
  • Come get your creepy art catharsis on ... just keep your distance.
    J.d. Crowe | Jdcrowe@al.com, al, 26 Apr. 2020
  • Telling the story of a breakup can be healing, like the catharsis of calling a friend after you’ve been dumped.
    Isle McElroy, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2024
  • Miles away, Israelis watched the scene unfold in horror and anguish, a sharp contrast to the catharsis evoked by the recent releases of hostages who had survived.
    Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
  • To sacrifice this sensation in favor of something known is to rob the story of the most horrifying catharsis.
    Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Feb. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catharsis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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