A laxative, either in the form of a medicine or a food such as asparagus or hops, which has the effect of moving the bowels, or aiding digestion and preventing constipation.
Having a gentle laxative effect.
Purging of the digestive system.
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).
A purification or cleansing, especially emotional.
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).
Any release of emotional tension to the same effect, more widely.