A quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow) WordNet 3.0 & Open English WordNet

Pathos appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. Wikipedia

The rhetorical appeal to emotion Wikipedia Disambiguation

Greek rhetorical term meaning “passion” Wikidata

The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions, especially that which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow, and the like; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression; pathetic quality. Wiktionary

The quality or property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions. Wiktionary (translation)

The quality of being poignant. Wiktionary