sympathetic

adjective

sym·pa·thet·ic | \ ˌsim-pə-ˈthe-tik

Definition of sympathetic

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : existing or operating through an affinity, interdependence, or mutual association

2a : appropriate to one's mood, inclinations, or disposition

b : marked by kindly or pleased appreciation the biographer's approach was sympathetic

3 : given to, marked by, or arising from sympathy, compassion, friendliness, and sensitivity to others' emotions a sympathetic gesture

4 : favorably inclined : approving not sympathetic to the idea

5a : showing empathy

b : arousing sympathy or compassion a sympathetic role in the play

6a : of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system

b : mediated by or acting on the sympathetic nerves

7 : relating to musical tones produced by sympathetic vibration or to strings so tuned as to sound by sympathetic vibration

sympathetic

noun

Definition of sympathetic (Entry 2 of 2)

: a sympathetic structure especially : sympathetic nervous system

Other Words from sympathetic Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about sympathetic

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Examples of sympathetic in a Sentence

Adjective

He received much help from sympathetic friends. I didn't find the hero in the movie very sympathetic.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

In Gladstone, the longtime park owner was sympathetic to residents and waited for their financing to come together. — oregonlive.com, "One of Oregon’s biggest stocks of affordable housing -- the mobile home -- is in peril, despite state interventions," 13 July 2019 Whelan was sympathetic and told Vega and the prosecutors to negotiate what terms would be acceptable. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Rep. Hunter’s attorney won’t put other congressional behavior on trial," 3 July 2019 Trump has had varying stances through the years on whether to keep DACA, at times appearing sympathetic toward Dreamers. — Tatiana Sanchez, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Area ‘Dreamers’ anxious about upcoming court review of DACA," 28 June 2019 And with material that finally allowed her character to be sympathetic, Grobglas ran with it, turning in one of TV’s most underrated performances. — Derek Lawrence, EW.com, "Forget Team Michael or Rafael, Jane and Petra are now the heart of Jane the Virgin," 26 June 2019 Torcellini manages to make the swindling Bialystock a rather sympathetic character and Raben’s performance as the mousy, blanket-dependent (think Peanuts’ Linus) accountant is believable. — Pomerado News, "REVIEW: Moonlight’s ‘The Producers’ is intentionally-offensive comedy," 19 June 2019 This episode demonstrated that a highly polished campaign with a compelling story about a sympathetic character—or a celebrity—can go viral, while countless others are left in the dust. — Quentin Fottrell, Town & Country, "GoFundMe Has Revolutionized How We Give, But Is That a Good Thing?," 19 June 2019 Dunn-Koczorowski was sentenced on two counts of encouraging terrorism, which included an online post sympathetic toward Anders Breivik, the man who killed at least 77 people in Oslo, Norway. — Joshua Bote, USA TODAY, "Neo-Nazi teens who threatened Prince Harry jailed for online 'terrorist' posts," 18 June 2019 While there was prejudice among some faculty members, Begian famously treated his white and black students equally and was sympathetic to those with jazz proclivities. — Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press, "'Jazz from Detroit': Exclusive excerpt from new book about city's remarkable jazz legacy," 30 June 2019

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