commiserate

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

|Updated on: 17 Aug 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

—

commiseratingly

adverb

—

commiseration

play \kə-ˌmi-zə-ˈrā-shən\ noun

—

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

— Anchorage Daily News, "Bus crash in Canada devastates a hockey town," 8 Apr. 2018
His players were at his back, at the other end of the field, applauding their fans, commiserating with them, the mood proud but somber, stony faces and distant eyes.

— rory smith, New York Times, "Croatia Digs Deeper, Burying England’s World Cup Dreams," 12 July 2018
The Globe reported earlier this month that when Broughton was in court in April, a different judge repeatedly thanked him for his service in Vietnam and commiserated with him about the military draft.

— stephanie ebbert, BostonGlobe.com, "Judge denies Valor Act in assault case," 27 June 2018
As Seager searched for sources of optimism, other members of the organization commiserated.

— andy mccullough, latimes.com, "Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager to have elbow surgery and sit out rest of season," 1 May 2018
The organizers of this weekend's comic convention want the owners to come to the show anyway because people will have questions about what happened and want to commiserate.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "BAM! POW! The Batmobile crashes with Robin at the wheel | The Kansas City Star," 18 May 2018
In Azana, Shadowfax and the other Red Pillers soar, swim, and run; cry, laugh, and commiserate.

— peter rubin, WIRED, "VR Is Back in Pop Culture—As a Warning," 29 June 2018
Over the course of the gala, William and his daughter Emily commiserate over Juliet's behavior, promising to deal with her later that night.

— josh wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Westworld' Bloodbath Sets the Stage For a Deadly Finale," 17 June 2018
Roth would remember hailing a taxi and, seeing that the driver's last name was Portnoy, commiserating over the book's notoriety.

— hillel italie, chicagotribune.com, "Philip Roth, prize-winning author of 'Portnoy's Complaint' and 'American Pastoral,' dies at 85," 22 May 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.