- Today's Word
Bathetic
buh-THET-ik
Definition
(adjective) Producing an unintentional effect of anticlimax by being overly sentimental or trivial.
Example
The film’s bathetic ending tried for tears but landed in cringe.
Fun Fact
Bathetic comes from the Greek word bathos, meaning “depth,” and was coined in contrast to “pathos.” While pathos moves us, bathos (and bathetic) refers to failed attempts at emotional gravity—where the result feels laughably out of place. You’ll find this word in reviews of soap operas, bad poetry, and speeches that take themselves way too seriously.
(adjective) Asserting opinions or beliefs in an arrogant, rigid, and often unyielding way.
His dogmatic approach left no room for compromise or alternative ideas.
Mid 17th century: from late Latin dogmaticus, from Greek dogmatikos, from dogma ‘opinion, tenet’.