what's the term for language creating pity in readers?

The term you’re looking for is pathos.

Quick Scoop

Pathos is a rhetorical and literary device where a writer or speaker uses emotionally loaded language to stir feelings of pity, sympathy, sorrow, or compassion in the audience. It’s one of Aristotle’s classic modes of persuasion, alongside ethos (credibility) and logos (logic).

What pathos does

• Uses emotionally charged words and images to move the audience.

• Aims to make readers feel pity, sadness, or compassion toward a character, group, or situation.

• Helps persuade by creating an emotional connection, not just a logical one.

Simple example

A sentence like:

“For just one dollar a day, you can feed a starving child.”

is designed to evoke pity and compassion to motivate action, which is a classic use of pathos.

So, if you’re asking “what’s the term for language creating pity in readers?”, the concise answer is: pathos.

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