pathos
/ˈpeɪˌθɒs/noun
pathos is spelled P-A-T-H-O-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pathos means “The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pathos is pathoses.
How many letters and syllables are in pathos?
| Letters | 6: P-A-T-H-O-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,748th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 pathos?
Pathos appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th 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 pathos?
- UK /ˈpeɪˌθɒs/
- UK /ˈpɑːθɒs/
- UK /ˈpæθɒs/
Pathos has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pathos.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pathos?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pathos from its last stressed vowel (/eɪθɒs/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: potash.
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 pathos
- pathoses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pathos mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality.
20 August 2018, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett in The Guardian, Young women are smashing it at Edinburgh as the #MeToo legacy kicks in Pritchard-McLean’s show is perfectly constructed, and at times deeply moving to the point where some audience mem
- 2
A form of rhetoric in which the writer or speaker uses emotional appeals to the audience as the main form of persuasion.
- 3
An author's attempt to evoke a feeling of pity or sympathetic sorrow for a character.
- 4
In theology and existentialist ethics following Kierkegaard and Heidegger, a deep and abiding commitment of the heart, as in the notion of "finding your passion" as an important aspect of a fully lived, engaged life.
- 5
Suffering; the enduring of active stress or affliction.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pathos in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotio:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pathétique |
| Portuguese | pathos, páthos, patos |
| Spanish | pathos |
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 pathos come from?
From Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos, “suffering”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).