simpatico

adjective sim·pa·ti·co \ sim-ˈpä-ti-ˌkō , -ˈpa- \

|Updated on: 24 Jul 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of simpatico

1 : agreeable, likable

The Bachelor Duke was a highly simpatico figure, kind, humane, civilized—qualities that it is often difficult to recapture in a historical biography.
—John Martin Robinson

2 : having shared qualities, interests, etc. : like-minded, sympathetic

These two artists are simpatico. Carlson, like Sorolla, works out-of-doors, directly from his subject …
—Kay Mayer

Andrea Sand's group of older mothers are simpatico because of their common age and experience.
—Barbara Hey

With the patronage of a simpatico Reagan, Casey took in hand a diminished CIA and molded it into a high-tech agency …
—William L. Chaze et al.

simpatico was our Word of the Day on 02/03/2014. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of simpatico from the Web

There are also simpatico musicians, like Emmylou Harris and John Hiatt.

— mark feeney, BostonGlobe.com, "‘The King’ takes Elvis’s Rolls-Royce for a ride," 11 July 2018
With Bungie came 2001 sci-fi shooter Halo: Combat Evolved and its instantly simpatico protagonist, Master Chief.

— SI.com, "The 15 Most Influential Video Game Characters of All Time," 4 July 2017
With Bungie came 2001 sci-fi shooter Halo: Combat Evolved and its instantly simpatico protagonist, Master Chief.

— SI.com, "The 15 Most Influential Video Game Characters of All Time," 4 July 2017
With Bungie came 2001 sci-fi shooter Halo: Combat Evolved and its instantly simpatico protagonist, Master Chief.

— SI.com, "The 15 Most Influential Video Game Characters of All Time," 4 July 2017
With Bungie came 2001 sci-fi shooter Halo: Combat Evolved and its instantly simpatico protagonist, Master Chief.

— SI.com, "The 15 Most Influential Video Game Characters of All Time," 4 July 2017
With Bungie came 2001 sci-fi shooter Halo: Combat Evolved and its instantly simpatico protagonist, Master Chief.

— lisa eadicicco, Time, "The 15 Most Influential Video Game Characters," 30 June 2017

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

Did You Know?

Simpatico, which derives from the Greek noun sympatheia, meaning "sympathy," was borrowed into English from both Italian and Spanish. In those languages, the word has been chiefly used to describe people who are well-liked or easy to get along with; early uses of the word in English reflected this, as in Henry James's 1881 novel The Portrait of a Lady, in which a character says of another's dying cousin, "Ah, he was so simpatico. I’m awfully sorry for you." In recent years, however, the word's meaning has shifted. Now we see it used to describe the relationship between people who get along well or work well together.