empathic

adjective

em·​path·​ic em-ˈpa-thik 

im-

: involving, characterized by, or based on empathy : empathetic

It is also during early childhood that people begin experiencing empathic guilt—feeling distress when they have been the cause of someone else's discomfort.

—Joseph Alper

empathically

em-ˈpa-thi-k(ə-)lē 

im-

adverb

listening empathically

Synonyms

• compassionate
• sympathetic

Examples of empathic in a Sentence

gave an empathic nod as I recounted my repeated efforts to land a decent-paying job in a tough economy

Recent Examples on the Web

So even if their market research is off, their final product still ends up working because it’s grounded in an empathic understanding of the customer. —Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025

According to a report from Catalyst, employees with highly empathic senior leaders report significantly higher engagement. —Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025

One psychological explanation for why empathic people experience fatigue and even burnout is that empathy involves a kind of mirroring of other people’s mental life, a mirroring that can be physically unpleasant. —Colin Marshall, The Conversation, 22 May 2025

Across species, this region has been shown to play a role in evaluating social rewards, empathic responses and decisions involving others. —Tobias Kalenscher, Scientific American, 13 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for empathic

• feldspathic
• felspathic
• allopathic
• cytopathic
• naturopathic
• neuropathic
• psychopathic
• telepathic
• homeopathic
• idiopathic
• osteopathic
• sociopathic

Medical Definition

empathic

adjective

em·​path·​ic em-ˈpath-ik, im- 

: involving, characterized by, or based on empathy

empathically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb