bathos
/ˈbeɪθɒs/noun
bathos is spelled B-A-T-H-O-S: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bathos means “Overdone or treacly attempts to inspire pathos” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bathos is bathoses.
How many letters and syllables are in bathos?
| Letters | 6: B-A-T-H-O-S |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 133,440th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bathos?
Bathos appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bathos?
- UK /ˈbeɪθɒs/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What rhymes with bathos?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bathos from its last stressed vowel (/eɪθɒs/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bathos
- bathoses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bathos mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Overdone or treacly attempts to inspire pathos.
- 2
A risible failure on the part of a work of art to properly affect its audience, particularly owing to
- 3
An anticlimax: an abrupt transition in style or subject from high to low.
- 4
A banality: an unaffectingly clichéd or trite treatment of a topic.
- 5
Immaturity: a lack of serious treatment of a topic.
- 6
A hyperbole: excessiveness.
- 7
The ironic use of such failure for satiric or humorous effect.
- 8
A nadir, a low point particularly in one's career.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bathos in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bathos , mauvais pathos |
| German | Bathos |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bathos come from?
Borrowed from Ancient Greek βάθος (báthos, “depth”). Employed ironically following Alexander Pope's Peri Bathous, lampooning various errors in contemporary writers.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).