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.
• Given the context, this lends the show a sense of pathos.
  — Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2020
• The pain was etched on his face in the passionate dance, which added to the pathos.
  — Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 19 Nov. 2019
• The humor is lost in translation but the pathos is there.
  — Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2023
• This is where the show’s aforementioned mood of pathos comes in.
  — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2023
• The cast is excellent, landing the jokes no less than the pathos.
  — New York Times, 6 Dec. 2020
• That’s where the series finds both its humor and its pathos.
  — Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Jan. 2022
• Which is not to say there’s not some pathos and dark subtext here and there.
  — Andy Meek, BGR, 20 Apr. 2021
• 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
• The lyricism, tenderness and pathos of the moments of respite touch the same heights.
  — The Economist, 7 June 2019
• Even Snoopy’s wildest daydreams have a touch of pathos.
  — Sarah Boxer, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2015
• 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
• 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 game was historic, as well, for its after-the-fact pathos.
  — Ben Yagoda, WSJ, 5 Oct. 2022
• Jeremy Renner brings a lot of pathos to the entire scene.
  — Chancellor Agard, EW.com, 8 Dec. 2021
• 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 ending, which attempts to meld tragedy and pathos, struck me as overwrought.
  — Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Feb. 2018
• The show explores school bullying and drug use with humor and pathos.
  — Hal Boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, 22 Mar. 2018
• The second principle in the modes of persuasion is pathos.
  — David Villa, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2021
• Even the bleakest feels programmed with hopeful pathos.
  — Darren Franich, EW.com, 5 June 2019
• The mockery of him that went a step too far unveiled a strain of pathos that caused masks and illusions to drop away.
  — Edward Rothstein, WSJ, 11 July 2019
• As the season progresses, though, the pathos largely gives way to farce.
  — Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2021
• Not just his — though his clowning often reaches the pathos level of the best silent movies.
  — New York Times, 18 Aug. 2021
• And she is seen to be a figure of some pathos, although a rather distant figure.
  — Charles Champlin, latimes.com, 13 Apr. 2018
• Spector proves as much a master of pathos as of comedy.
  — Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Apr. 2018
• But the film also finds room for humor and laughter, for pathos and catharsis.
  — Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 22 Nov. 2022
• 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
• 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
• Meyerowitz blends humor and pathos at almost every turn.
  — Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader, 17 Oct. 2017

Last Updated: 27 Mar 2024