Choose the Right Synonym for compassion

pity, compassion, commiseration, condolence, sympathy mean the act or capacity for sharing the painful feelings of another. pity implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow for one in misery or distress. felt pity for the captives compassion implies pity coupled with an urgent desire to aid or to spare. treats the homeless with great compassion commiseration suggests pity expressed outwardly in exclamations, tears, or words of comfort. murmurs of commiseration filled the loser's headquarters condolence applies chiefly to formal expression of grief to one who has suffered loss. expressed their condolences to the widow sympathy often suggests a tender concern but can also imply a power to enter into another's emotional experience of any sort. went to my best friend for sympathy in sympathy with her desire to locate her natural parents

What is the difference between empathy and compassion?

Compassion and empathy both refer to a caring response to someone else’s distress. While empathy refers to an active sharing in the emotional experience of the other person, compassion adds to that emotional experience a desire to alleviate the person’s distress.

… the story of Nellie Bly, the first female investigative reporter, who not only demanded justice from powerful institutions, but also insisted on dignity and compassion for the most vulnerable citizens. — The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Aug. 2022

Blonde clearly wants us to feel for Norma Jeane, but it dwells on her pain so obsessively … that the movie's empathy feels like another form of exploitation. — Justin Chang, NPR, 23 Sept. 2022

The distinction between compassion and empathy is frequently a topic of exploration.

By empathy I mean feeling the feelings of other people. So if you’re in pain and I feel your pain—I am feeling empathy toward you. If you’re being anxious, I pick up your anxiety. If you’re sad and I pick up your sadness, I’m being empathetic. And that’s different from compassion. Compassion means I give your concern weight, I value it. I care about you, but I don’t necessarily pick up your feelings. … [I]f I feel compassion for you, I’ll be invigorated. I’ll be happy and I’ll try to make your life better. — Paul Bloom, quoted in Vox, 16 Jan. 2019

Compassion is a much older word; it’s been part of the language since the 14th century, and comes ultimately from Latin com- and pati, meaning “to bear, suffer.” Empathy is a 20th century coinage modeled on sympathy as a translation of the German Einfühlung (“feeling-in” or “feeling into”). It was first applied in contexts of philosophy, aesthetics, and psychology and continues to have technical use in those fields.

Examples of compassion in a Sentence

Take away all the qualities that make for a genuinely good father—wisdom, compassion, even temper, selflessness—and what you have left is Homer Simpson with his pure, mindless, dogged devotion to his family. — Paul A. Cantor, Gilligan Unbound, 2001 … he read every "doctor book" he could reach … , learning fine secrets and curing us with steams and fruit compotes and dexterous rubs and, above all, with bedside compassion. — Gwendolyn Brooks, Booklist, 15 Oct. 1993 The novel addresses at every point in its structural edifice, and lingers over in every fissure, the slave's body and personality: the way it speaks, what passion legal or illicit it is prey to, what pain it can endure, what limits, if any, there are to its suffering, what possibilities there are for forgiveness, compassion, love. — Toni Morrison, Playing In The Dark, 1992 I can't write songs about what's wrong with a country that seems to lack compassion for pain and suffering … — Bonnie Raitt, quoted in Entertainment Weekly, 23 Aug. 1991 Like the best of the new detectives, V. I. and Kinsey, she is a woman of wit and gravity, compassion and toughness, a heroine worth spending time with. — Susan Isaacs, New York Times Book Review, 3 Nov. 1991 He felt compassion for the lost child. She shows compassion to the sick. She had the compassion to offer help when it was needed most. See More

Recent Examples on the Web People need to start being kind to one another and show compassion and empathy for what others are feeling. — Kathy Pisabaj, CNN, 11 Oct. 2022 Doing so gives us the chance to understand the depths of ourselves that are rarely seen, which require compassion and empathy, too. — Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 6 Oct. 2022 And upon meeting such love and compassion, they were met with healing. — Colby Martin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Sep. 2022 Overcoming resistance to change requires compassion and empathy in order to engage and encourage the individual who is struggling. — Jarret Jackson, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 And there seems to be this general lack of compassion and empathy that’s just growing and growing. — Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Aug. 2022 In the book, Rollins delves into relatable ways to replace shame with the truth of God’s love, compassion and healing. — Lynnette Nicholas, Essence, 26 July 2022 There are dads, uncles, doctors, lawyers in the mix, Parker said, and the only true requirements are being able to share compassion and empathy. — Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 29 June 2022 So, the film basically focusses on how this genocide is being denied by the people who had the power to accept it and show compassion and empathy, and fight for their justice. — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 21 June 2022 See More

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