sym·pa·thet·ic
ˌsim-pə-ˈthe-tik 
1
: existing or operating through an affinity, interdependence, or mutual association
2
a
: 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
5
a
: showing empathy
b
: arousing sympathy or compassion
a sympathetic role in the play
6
a
: 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
: a sympathetic structure
especially
: sympathetic nervous system
Synonyms
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
Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
Many teachers are also sympathetic to their arguments; the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers support discipline reform and alternatives to suspension.
—Sarah Butrymowicz, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2024
His plain hope is that the current Court will be sympathetic to Scalia’s reasoning.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2024
Bear cub breaks into bakery Several countries present at Monday’s EU Environment Council meeting were sympathetic to the proposal.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Williams has argued that the show was too sympathetic to Sorokin, and distorted reality by transforming Sorokin’s character from a villain into an anti-hero, whom the audience is asked to root for on some level.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
While the court did not rule directly on the merits of Trump's appeal, its ruling suggests that some of the judges could be sympathetic to Trump's case, legal experts said.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Mar. 2024
While the court, the Appellate Division in Manhattan, did not rule directly on the merits of Mr. Trump’s appeal, its ruling suggests that some of the judges could be sympathetic to Mr. Trump’s case, legal experts said.
—William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Start talking or typing about anxiety and the app generates the kind of comforting, sympathetic statements therapists are trained to deliver.
—Matthew Perrone, Quartz, 22 Mar. 2024
Fox News, 3 Mar. 2023
Prelogar said states can file suits in numerous jurisdictions, searching for a judge sympathetic to their cause.
—Dallas News, 29 Nov. 2022
As Jason McBride notes in his sympathetic and carefully rendered new biography of Acker, Eat Your Mind, it’s easy to see Acker and her work as a relic of a lost world.
—Laura Tanenbaum, The New Republic, 13 Jan. 2023
Stringed instruments, with their capability for sweeping legato movement between pitches, are the instruments most akin to the human voice, and thus most relatable and sympathetic to our innermost vibrations.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2022
There are surely many people of all groups who are not especially interested in or sympathetic to scientists treating them as objects of study.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 July 2012
The most famous British royal sympathetic to the Nazis was King Edward III, who abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson.
—Town & Country, 18 Nov. 2022
No, Heather was not being particularly (or even slightly) sympathetic in that moment.
—Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Oct. 2022
Would the Democratic-aligned, or the Democratic-sympathetic, or the mainstream media, have told their voters, listeners, or readers that the election was stolen?
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2022
Adjective
So might the American people: Right-wing evangelicals and Orthodox Jews may be sympathetic to the expansionist project, but many other Americans, including Jewish Americans, see it as illegitimate and profoundly unjust.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
Many teachers are also sympathetic to their arguments; the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers support discipline reform and alternatives to suspension.
—Sarah Butrymowicz, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2024
His plain hope is that the current Court will be sympathetic to Scalia’s reasoning.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2024
Bear cub breaks into bakery Several countries present at Monday’s EU Environment Council meeting were sympathetic to the proposal.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Williams has argued that the show was too sympathetic to Sorokin, and distorted reality by transforming Sorokin’s character from a villain into an anti-hero, whom the audience is asked to root for on some level.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
While the court did not rule directly on the merits of Trump's appeal, its ruling suggests that some of the judges could be sympathetic to Trump's case, legal experts said.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Mar. 2024
While the court, the Appellate Division in Manhattan, did not rule directly on the merits of Mr. Trump’s appeal, its ruling suggests that some of the judges could be sympathetic to Mr. Trump’s case, legal experts said.
—William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Start talking or typing about anxiety and the app generates the kind of comforting, sympathetic statements therapists are trained to deliver.
—Matthew Perrone, Quartz, 22 Mar. 2024
Noun
His faith was increasingly at odds with national sentiment after King Charles I, an Anglican sympathetic to Roman Catholicism, gained the throne in 1625.
—Fox News, 3 Mar. 2023
Prelogar said states can file suits in numerous jurisdictions, searching for a judge sympathetic to their cause.
—Dallas News, 29 Nov. 2022
As Jason McBride notes in his sympathetic and carefully rendered new biography of Acker, Eat Your Mind, it’s easy to see Acker and her work as a relic of a lost world.
—Laura Tanenbaum, The New Republic, 13 Jan. 2023
Stringed instruments, with their capability for sweeping legato movement between pitches, are the instruments most akin to the human voice, and thus most relatable and sympathetic to our innermost vibrations.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2022
There are surely many people of all groups who are not especially interested in or sympathetic to scientists treating them as objects of study.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 July 2012
The most famous British royal sympathetic to the Nazis was King Edward III, who abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson.
—Town & Country, 18 Nov. 2022
No, Heather was not being particularly (or even slightly) sympathetic in that moment.
—Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Oct. 2022
Would the Democratic-aligned, or the Democratic-sympathetic, or the mainstream media, have told their voters, listeners, or readers that the election was stolen?
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sympathetic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sympathetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sympathetic. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
sympathetic
1 of 2 adjective
sym·pa·thet·ic
ˌsim-pə-ˈthet-ik
1
: of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system
2
: mediated by or acting on the sympathetic nerves
sympathetic
2 of 2 noun
: a sympathetic structure
especially
: sympathetic nervous system
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