WORD OF THE DAY: Bathos

bathos
\BEY-thos, -thaws, -thohs\
noun
1. insincere pathos; sentimentality; mawkishness.
2. a ludicrous descent from the exalted or lofty to the commonplace; anticlimax.
Quotes
The Finnish director has an exact target in mind, the niche between bathos and true poignance.
— Desson Howe, “La Vie de Boheme,” Washington Post, November 5, 1993