VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

cathartic experience

noun·Advanced

Last updated

UK/kəˈθɑːtɪk ɪkˈspɪəriəns/
US/kərˈθɑːrtɪk ɪkˈspɪriəns/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    An event or activity that lets you express strong hidden feelings and feel relieved afterward.

    Grammar: Countable: you can say a cathartic experience or several cathartic experiences.

    Patterns

    • a cathartic experience for someone
    • have a cathartic experience
    • find something a cathartic experience

    Writing about the accident was a cathartic experience for her.

    For many soldiers, talking to others who served is a cathartic experience.

    The play gave the audience a cathartic experience, leaving some in tears.

  2. nouncountabletechnical

    A process in therapy in which a patient releases buried emotions and feels relief.

    Grammar: Technical use in psychology; often appears with the verbs produce or undergo.

    Patterns

    • undergo a cathartic experience
    • produce a cathartic experience

    The therapist aimed to produce a cathartic experience for the patient.

    In his notes, the doctor described the session as a cathartic experience.

Word forms

pluralcathartic experiences

Common combinations

a cathartic release
Shouting in the empty field gave him a cathartic release.
a deeply cathartic experience
Returning to her childhood home was a deeply cathartic experience.
a cathartic moment
The apology became a cathartic moment for the whole family.
emotionally cathartic
The film is emotionally cathartic rather than simply sad.

Synonyms and how they differ

purifying
This describes the effect of removing something bad, but it does not suggest the emotional release of a cathartic experience.
therapeutic
This means generally good for your health or mind; it is broader and does not require a strong release of feeling.
liberating
This emphasizes freedom from limits, while cathartic emphasizes relief after expressing emotion.

Word family

catharsis noun
The process or result of releasing strong emotions.
cathartic adjective
Producing an emotional release.
cathartically adverb
In a way that produces emotional release.

Commonly confused: cathartic experience or cathartic?

cathartic experience vs cathartic

Cathartic is the adjective; a cathartic experience is the full noun phrase. Learners sometimes use cathartic alone as a noun, which is wrong.

Practice

After months of silence, telling the truth to her family was a ______ experience.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “cathartic experience”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words