commiserate

verb

com·mis·er·ate | \ kə-ˈmi-zə-ˌrāt

commiserated; commiserating

Definition of commiserate

intransitive verb

: to feel or express sympathy : condole commiserates with them on their loss

transitive verb

: to feel or express sorrow or compassion for

Other Words from commiserate More Example Sentences Learn More about commiserate

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Other Words from commiserate

commiseratingly adverb

commiseration \ kə-ˌmi-zə-ˈrā-shən

\ noun

commiserative \ kə-ˈmi-zə-ˌrā-tiv

\ adjective

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 on the Web

All the characters guard their feelings here, and this is never clearer than in a tender, painful scene in which Brian and his love interest (Melanie Liburd) commiserate. — Alan Zilberman, Twin Cities, "‘Brian Banks’ tells the powerful true story of a man falsely accused of rape," 8 Aug. 2019 This particular meme captures the spirit of the hashtag #DemThrones, which was created in 2012 — its exact provenance is the subject of debate — as a space for black fans to deliberate and commiserate about the show. — Namwali Serpell, New York Times, "How Social-Media Meme-Makers Rescued ‘Game of Thrones’ From Itself," 6 June 2019 As a result, the forum was more about commiserating than a sorting of candidates on policy differences. — Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY, "For 2020 Democrats, hammering on gun control comes with upside: Energized, angry activists," 12 Aug. 2019 Rather than commiserating with like-minded friends over cocktails, posting rants on Facebook, or planting her head deep in the Lake Erie sand, Kathy put fingers to keyboard. — Andrea Simakis, cleveland.com, "One woman’s guide to surviving Trump: writing him daily — Andrea Simakis," 11 Aug. 2019 Some memes commiserate millennials going through what could possibly be their second recession as Gen Z would go through its first. — Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, "'Here we go again': Young Americans turn to memes, dark humor in face of recession," 10 Sep. 2019 This is partially because having a person, or a community of people, to commiserate with is helpful when times get tough. — Christina Stembel, Quartz at Work, "Creating Farmgirl Flowers taught me my high school education is more than enough," 29 Aug. 2019 All the characters guard their feelings here, and this is never clearer than in a tender, painful scene in which Brian and his love interest (Melanie Liburd) commiserate. — Alan Zilberman, Twin Cities, "‘Brian Banks’ tells the powerful true story of a man falsely accused of rape," 8 Aug. 2019 Go sip Chardonnay with Lara in California and commiserate! — Elena Nicolaou, refinery29.com, "Billions Season 4 Finale Recap: Et Tu, Bobby?," 4 June 2019

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.