Catharsis vs. Catalyst — What's the Difference?

Catharsis (from Greek κάθαρσις, katharsis, meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions—particularly pity and fear—through art or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration. It is a metaphor originally used by Aristotle in the Poetics, comparing the effects of tragedy on the mind of a spectator to the effect of catharsis on the body.

A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change

(Medicine) Purgation, especially for the digestive system.

(Chemistry) A substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process.

A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.

One that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences

A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.

(chemistry) A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.

A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.

Something that encourages progress or change.

The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

(literature) An inciting incident that sets the successive conflict into motion.

(drama) A release of emotional tension after an overwhelming vicarious experience, resulting in the purging or purification of the emotions, as through watching a dramatic production (especially a tragedy).

(automotive) A catalytic converter.

Any release of emotional tension to the same effect, more widely.

(fantasy) An object that facilitates the casting of a spell (such as a magic wand).

A purification or cleansing, especially emotional.

A substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected; as, thousands of enzymes serve in concert as calaysts to produce the sequence of reactions we call "life"; the industrial production of cheap ammonia depended on finding a good catalyst.

(psychology) A therapeutic technique to relieve tension by re-establishing the association of an emotion with the memory or idea of the event that first caused it, and then eliminating it by complete expression (called the abreaction).

Something that serves as a precipitating occasion for an event; as, the invasion acted as a catalyst to unite the country.

(medicine) Purging of the digestive system.

Something or someone that causes events to happen with itself being changed.

A natural or artificial purgation of any passage, as of the mouth, bowels, etc.

(chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected

The process of relieving an abnormal excitement by reëstablishing the association of the emotion with the memory or idea of the event that first caused it, and of eliminating it by complete expression (called the abreaction).

Something that causes an important event to happen;

(psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions

Purging the body by the use of a cathartic to stimulate evacuation of the bowels