How to Use pathos in a Sentence
pathos
noun- Our knowledge of his tragic end adds an element of pathos to the story of his early success.
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Given the context, this lends the show a sense of pathos.
— Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2020 -
Each of the three strands is approached for pathos, not shock.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2024 -
The pain was etched on his face in the passionate dance, which added to the pathos.
— Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 19 Nov. 2019 -
This is where the show’s aforementioned mood of pathos comes in.
— Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2023 -
The game was historic, as well, for its after-the-fact pathos.
— Ben Yagoda, WSJ, 5 Oct. 2022 -
Even Snoopy’s wildest daydreams have a touch of pathos.
— Sarah Boxer, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2015 -
There’s a touch of pathos to spending time with Cage ... but just a tinge.
— Glenn Whipp Entertainment Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2022 -
The cast is excellent, landing the jokes no less than the pathos.
— New York Times, 6 Dec. 2020 -
The humor is lost in translation but the pathos is there.
— Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2023 -
And for all the pathos of the more dramatic moments, there’s a lot of humor in the mix.
— Ed Masley, azcentral, 18 Apr. 2018 -
Which is not to say there’s not some pathos and dark subtext here and there.
— Andy Meek, BGR, 20 Apr. 2021 -
The lyricism, tenderness and pathos of the moments of respite touch the same heights.
— The Economist, 7 June 2019 -
That’s where the series finds both its humor and its pathos.
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Jan. 2022 -
There’s a lot of humor and a lot of pathos in Ann Landers’ columns over the years.
— Bob Kostanczuk, Post-Tribune, 28 June 2018 -
And therein lies the comedy and the drama and the humor and the pathos of his journey.
— Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 May 2023 -
Both guys are great, just great, though Monaghan gets my nod for range and pathos.
— John Timpane, Philly.com, 22 Jan. 2018 -
But Ostermeier’s show turns the script from pathos to bathos.
— Helen Shaw, Vulture, 22 May 2022 -
There is pathos to the civic unrest, to the images of a million umbrellas in the rain.
— Matthew Continetti, National Review, 24 Aug. 2019 -
The ending, which attempts to meld tragedy and pathos, struck me as overwrought.
— Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Feb. 2018 -
Jeremy Renner brings a lot of pathos to the entire scene.
— Chancellor Agard, EW.com, 8 Dec. 2021 -
If there’s a gap between the two, how much hope, how much irony and how much pathos exist in that gap?
— Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2023 -
Twenty-five years in three sentences, the pathos all in the economy.
— Charles Arrowsmith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 -
This is already a lot of premise, and a lot of pathos, for a single, six-episode series to take on.
— Judy Berman, TIME, 31 May 2024 -
As the season progresses, though, the pathos largely gives way to farce.
— Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2021 -
Bursts of charm, pathos, and action were sprinkled throughout like M&M’s in a bag of trail mix.
— Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 14 Apr. 2022 -
That undercurrent of pathos is not present in The Books of Jacob.
— Jake Bittle, The New Republic, 2 Mar. 2022 -
There’s a kind of pathos to Laura, this loneliness to her.
— Selome Hailu, Variety, 8 Nov. 2023 -
As in Nine Perfect Strangers and, again, Expats, her murky past is a source of pathos as well as suspense.
— Judy Berman, TIME, 5 Sep. 2024 -
Nowhere is that pathos more acute than in the love letters that suddenly appear near the end of Dickinson’s life.
— Kamran Javadizadeh, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pathos.' 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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