commiserate

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

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

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

But on Saturday, people came to the sports complex for a far different reason: to meet with crisis counselors, commiserate and get updates on their players.

— ian austen, BostonGlobe.com, "Horrific bus crash devastates a small Canadian town," 8 Apr. 2018
His boys basketball team had lost to Sheldon-Sacramento in the NorCal Open Division playoffs Tuesday night, so Wall and his assistants were commiserating at Buffalo Wild Wings.

— ron kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, "St. Mary’s Jordan Ford taking spin in spotlight," 18 Mar. 2018
Lawrence commiserated that Streep had tripped her once.

— Washington Post, "A whiff of change, of many kinds, at post-Weinstein Oscars," 5 Mar. 2018
Over the course of an hour, the women commiserated about haters, hashed out the #MeToo moment and discussed Winfrey's big Golden Globes speech.

— stephanie merry, chicagotribune.com, "How Oprah makes new friends — and other takeaways from her Goop podcast interview," 9 Mar. 2018
Paula Bazzone, a board member for the Deer Creek Improvement Association, pulled up in front of the murder scene Tuesday to commiserate with Tanzer.

— linda trischitta, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Murder-suicide in Deerfield Beach townhome," 7 Mar. 2018
The New Orleans Society of Dance Baby Doll Ladies gathered to commemorate their heritage and commiserate about future plans at its Induction Luncheon Jan. 27 at House of Blues Parish Room.

— sue strachan, NOLA.com, "NOSD Baby Doll Ladies celebrate at luncheon, future Mardi Gras appearance," 8 Feb. 2018
In the 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Lynn Nottage, much of the action unfolds in a bar where coworkers congregate to laugh and commiserate as layoffs loom in the new economy that no longer values things made with human labor - with sweat.

— andrea simakis, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Play House 2018-19 season captures zeitgeist with sidelined steelworkers in 'Sweat' and feuding neighbors in 'Native Gardens' (photos)," 5 Oct. 2017
Minutes later, as the two drank rum and kicked off their shoes, Colbert commiserated with how Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers recently used Lawrence’s name in his legal defense.

— taylor antrim, Vogue, "Is Jennifer Lawrence Actually Really Unhappy?," 27 Feb. 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.