sympathy
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sympathy
- /ˈsɪm.pə.θi/ Australia, Canada, UK
- /ˈsəm.pə.θi/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɪmpəθi
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Middle French sympathie, from Late Latin sympathīa (“feeling in common”), from Ancient Greek σῠμπᾰ́θειᾰ (sŭmpắtheiă, “fellow feeling”), from σῠμπᾰθής (sŭmpăthḗs, “affected by like feelings; exerting mutual influence, interacting”) + -ῐᾰ (-ĭă, “-y”, nominal suffix). Equivalent to sym- (“acting or considered together”) + -pathy (“feeling”).
noun sympathies
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A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another.
If you want sympathy you’ll find it in the dictionary between shit and syphilis. Sympathy may pay well in the short term, but if you cash in on sympathy, it will take everything from you in the long run.
Similar: compassion, pity, bowels, commiseration, empathy, fellow feeling, mercy, remorse, rue, ruth, sympathy, tenderheartedness
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The formal expression of pity or sorrow for someone else's misfortune.
While you'll probably have her sympathies if your condominium association wants to preapprove your storm door, you'll need to work harder for her support if your boss at the music megastore demands you grow a goatee to help lend the place some indie cred.
Similar: compassion, pity, bowels, commiseration, empathy, fellow feeling, mercy, remorse, rue, ruth, sympathy, tenderheartedness
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The ability to share the feelings of another.
Similar: compassion, pity, bowels, commiseration, empathy, fellow feeling, mercy, remorse, rue, ruth, sympathy, tenderheartedness
- Inclination to think or feel alike; emotional or intellectual accord; common feeling. Oh vvhat a ſimpathie of vvoe is this, / As farre from helpe, as Lymbo is from bliſſe.
- Support in the form of shared feelings or opinions.
- Feeling of loyalty; tendency towards, agreement with or approval of an opinion or aim; a favorable attitude. Many people in Hollywood were blacklisted merely because they were suspected of Communist sympathies.
- An affinity, association or mutual relationship between people or things such that they are correspondingly affected by any condition. He observed, also, the frequent sympathy of volcanic and terremotive action in remote districts of the earth's surface, thus showing how deeply seated must be the cause of these convulsions.
- Mutual or parallel susceptibility or a condition brought about by it.
- Artistic harmony, as of shape or colour in a painting.
Opposite: apathy, antipathy, contempt, dissympathy
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: fellow feeling, understanding, sympathetic, condolences, compassionate, condolence, compassion, sympathizer, caring, kindness, warm-heartedness, empathy, mercy, goodwill, benevolence, friendliness
noun
Opposite: apathy, antipathy, contempt, dissympathy
Translations
Every language
noun feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another — see also compassion
| Español | compasión |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 同情 dōjō |
| 中文 | 同情 tóngqíng, 同感 tónggǎn |
| हिन्दी | सहानुभूति sahānubhūti, संवेदना samvednā |
| Kiswahili | juruma |
| Português | compaixão |
| Français | compassion, sympathie, condoléance |
| Deutsch | Mitleid, Mitgefühl |
| Italiano | compassione |
| Ελληνικά | συμπάθεια sympátheia |
| Română | compasiune, compătimire, simpatie |
| Русский | сочу́вствие sočúvstvije, сострада́ние sostradánije |
| Tiếng Việt | thương cảm |
| العربية | تَعَاطُف taʕāṭuf, عَطْف ʕaṭf, حُنُو ḥunū |
| עברית | אהדה Ahada |
noun mutual relationship
| Español | afinidad |
|---|---|
| Português | afinidade |
| Français | sympathie |
| Deutsch | Sympathie |
| Русский | симпа́тия simpátija |
noun ability to share the feelings of another; empathy
| Español | empatía |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 共感 kyōkan, 共鳴 kyōmē, 交感 kōkan |
| 中文 | 同情心 tóngqíngxīn, 同理心 tónglǐxīn |
| हिन्दी | सहानुभूति sahānubhūti, संवेदना samvednā |
| Português | empatia |
| Français | sympathie, empathie |
| Deutsch | Empathie, Mitgefühl, Einfühlungsvermögen |
| Italiano | empatia |
| Ελληνικά | συμπάθεια sympátheia |
| Română | empatie |
| Русский | сочу́вствие sočúvstvije |
| Tiếng Việt | thông cảm |
Talk about this word "sympathy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sympathy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sympathy. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sympathy "sympathy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sympathy.Cite this
@misc{sympathy_2026,
title = {sympathy},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sympathy},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
