commiserate

verb com·mis·er·ate \ kə-ˈmi-zə-ˌrāt \

|Updated on: 22 Jun 2018

Examples: commiserate in a Sentence

Definition of commiserate

commiserated; commiserating

intransitive verb

: to feel or express sympathy : condole

commiserates with them on their loss

transitive verb

: to feel or express sorrow or compassion for

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commiseratingly

adverb

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commiseration

play \kə-ˌmi-zə-ˈrā-shən\ noun

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commiserative

play \kə-ˈmi-zə-ˌrā-tiv\ adjective

See commiserate defined for English-language learners

See commiserate defined for kids

Examples of commiserate in a Sentence

"Did you enjoy your breakfast?" "The eggs were runny." "I know." The woman commiserated. "I was thinking, I should just have barged into the kitchen and done them myself." —Alice Munro, Runaway, (2004) 2005
The other potters seemed to slump as one into dejection, all but abandoning their work in favor of long, lugubrious visits to the wine shop, where they commiserated with one another. —Linda Sue Park, A Single Shard, (2001) 2003
"I been readin' about it," she said, referring to the recent breakup of my marriage. … "It's too bad," she commiserated. —Arthur Miller, Timebends, 1987
The pain of losing is diverting. So is the thrill of winning. Winning, however, is lonelier, because those you've taken money from are not apt to commiserate with you. —David Mamet, New York Times Magazine, 20 Apr. 1986
The players commiserated over their loss in the championship game.

Recent Examples of commiserate from the Web

All seven of the galleries in the CityArts Factory, plus other galleries and spaces around downtown host receptions for new exhibits and commiserating over wine.

— trevor fraser, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Date Night: Beer, words and pictures," 14 June 2018
At one point Lott and a handful of others sat at one table, commiserating about filling out the NFL CTE forms and the endless bureaucracy.

— chris ballard, SI.com, "In Montana, a 49ers Reunion for Dwight Clark," 2 May 2018
The Enquirer/Bobby Nightengale On an autumn night in Atlanta in 1996, Hep Cronin walked from Fulton County Stadium with Atlanta Braves scouting director Paul Snyder, commiserating.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Daugherty column: Jim Leyritz, Chipper Jones and Cal Ripken. Hep Cronin's seen it all.," 5 June 2018
Roth would remember hailing a taxi and, seeing that the driver's last name was Portnoy, commiserating over the book's notoriety.

— douglas perry, OregonLive.com, "Woodburn teenager arrested after allegedly making school-shooting threats on Snapchat," 23 May 2018
Roth would remember hailing a taxi and, seeing that the driver’s last name was Portnoy, commiserating over the book’s notoriety.

— Washington Post, "Philip Roth: a generation’s defining voice," 23 May 2018
There are a couple more family meetings each semester, at which students gather on campus to discuss internships, research, scholarships and housing, to share advice and to commiserate and strategize over challenges.

— catherine rentz, baltimoresun.com, "'Agents of change:' A year with the UMBC program shaping some of the nation's best and most diverse scientists," 18 May 2018
Fans have spent a week commiserating about the ending and re-living the heartache thanks to memes and YouTube reactions, some of which include audio of movie crowds reacting to the most important scenes.

— nick allen, The Hollywood Reporter, "Why It's Hard to Move on After 'Avengers: Infinity War'," 5 May 2018
Many took to Twitter to commiserate their fate with both paeons and fitting GoT GIFs.

— cady lang, Time, "Game of Thrones," 5 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'commiserate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.