(psychology) A therapeutictechnique 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).
“At the end of the movie, an ensemble comedy, there are about half a dozen catharses in a two-minute span of time.”
“The ending of the film also presents a twist that effectively erases the catharses that the film's events have caused several of the more prominent characters to undergo.”
“Between Safin's catharses and Kiefer's yelps, fans saw them pull off amazing shots under stress.”