adj

cathartic

kuh-THAHR-tihk

adj

Producing an intense emotional release, especially after built-up tension or distress.

"Talking it through with a friend was cathartic after such a stressful week."

"The final chapter delivers a cathartic ending readers won't forget."

noun

A medicine that strongly stimulates the bowels; a laxative.

"The doctor prescribed a mild cathartic to relieve his constipation."

How to Use Cathartic

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEmotionally cleansing (the common use today), or, in medicine, something that clears out the bowels.

Easily confused with

catharsis →

more cathartic comparative, cathartics plural, most cathartic superlative

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Talking it through with a friend was _____ after such a stressful week.

Borrowed via New Latin catharticus from Greek kathartikos, "cleansing" — the same root as catharsis.