sympathy

Q: What is the difference between 'sympathy' and 'empathy'?

Sympathy is a feeling of sincere concern for someone who is experiencing something difficult or painful. Empathy involves actively sharing in the person’s emotional experience. Sympathy has been in use since the 16th century. It comes ultimately from the Greek sympathēs , meaning “having common feelings, sympathetic,” which was formed from syn- (“with, together with”) and páthos , “experience, misfortune, emotion, condition.” Empathy was modeled on sympathy ; it was coined in the early 20th century as a translation of the German Einfühlung (“feeling-in” or “feeling into”), and was first applied in contexts of philosophy, aesthetics, and psychology. Empathy continues to have technical use in those fields that sympathy does not. For more on this pair see this article .

Q: What is the difference between 'sympathy' and 'compassion'?

Compassion adds to the emotional experience of sympathy an urgent desire to alleviate the person’s distress. While both sympathy and compassion have been in use for hundreds of years, compassion is more than 200 years older. It dates to the 14th century and ultimately comes from Latin com- and pati , meaning “to bear, suffer.”

Q: What is the difference between 'sympathy' and 'pity'?

Pity and sympathy can both refer to a feeling of sadness and concern for someone who is unhappy or is suffering. Pity also sometimes implies contemptuous sorrow for the person who is in misery or distress—that is, a sense of disapproval and strong dislike. Like sympathy , pity dates to the 14th century. It comes ultimately from Latin pius , meaning “pious” .

noun

sym·pa·thy ˈsim-pə-thē

plural sympathies

Synonyms of sympathy next

: an affinity, association, or relationship between persons or things wherein whatever affects one similarly affects the other

: mutual or parallel susceptibility or a condition brought about by it

: unity or harmony in action or effect

every part is in complete sympathy with the scheme as a whole—

Edwin Benson

: inclination to think or feel alike : emotional or intellectual accord

in sympathy with their goals

: feeling of loyalty : tendency to favor or support

republican sympathies

: the act or capacity of entering into or sharing the feelings or interests of another

: the feeling or mental state brought about by such sensitivity

have sympathy for the poor

: the correlation existing between bodies capable of communicating their vibrational energy to one another through some medium

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between sympathy and empathy?

Sympathy is a feeling of sincere concern for someone who is experiencing something difficult or painful. Empathy involves actively sharing in the person’s emotional experience. Sympathy has been in use since the 16th century. It comes ultimately from the Greek sympathēs, meaning “having common feelings, sympathetic,” which was formed from syn- (“with, together with”) and páthos, “experience, misfortune, emotion, condition.” Empathy was modeled on sympathy; it was coined in the early 20th century as a translation of the German Einfühlung (“feeling-in” or “feeling into”), and was first applied in contexts of philosophy, aesthetics, and psychology. Empathy continues to have technical use in those fields that sympathy does not. For more on this pair see this article.

What is the difference between sympathy and compassion?

Compassion adds to the emotional experience of sympathy an urgent desire to alleviate the person’s distress. While both sympathy and compassion have been in use for hundreds of years, compassion is more than 200 years older. It dates to the 14th century and ultimately comes from Latin com- and pati, meaning “to bear, suffer.”

What is the difference between sympathy and pity?

Pity and sympathy can both refer to a feeling of sadness and concern for someone who is unhappy or is suffering. Pity also sometimes implies contemptuous sorrow for the person who is in misery or distress—that is, a sense of disapproval and strong dislike. Like sympathy, pity dates to the 14th century. It comes ultimately from Latin pius, meaning “pious”.

Choose the Right Synonym for sympathy

attraction, affinity, sympathy mean the relationship existing between things or persons that are naturally or involuntarily drawn together.

attraction implies the possession by one thing of a quality that pulls another to it.

felt an attraction to danger

affinity implies a susceptibility or predisposition on the part of the one drawn.

an affinity for mathematics

sympathy implies a reciprocal or natural relation between two things that are both susceptible to the same influence.

two minds in sympathy

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

Example Sentences

She went to her best friend for sympathy. Letters of sympathy were sent to the families of the victims. My deepest sympathies go out to the families of the victims. Our sympathies are with them. There was no sympathy between them.

Recent Examples on the Web However, Jo Ann Hardesty, the former commissioner of the Portland Bureau of Transportation, saw this measure as a political measure to gather public sympathy. —

Eden Villalovas, Washington Examiner, 9 May 2023 The social media profile included several posts and memes showing admiration for neo-Nazis, along with sympathy for a violently misogynistic movement. —

Michael Williams, Dallas News, 8 May 2023 In recent weeks, Erdogan and his allies have relentlessly tried to tar the opposition, accusing them of links to terrorism and sympathy with LGBTQ people. —

Zeynep Karatas, Washington Post, 5 May 2023 Building trust The issues faced by officials and residents alike in Lyman – including grappling with residual pro-Russian sympathy – are mirrored in Sviatohirsk. —

Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 May 2023 But while crime and rats face universal opposition among New Yorkers, the migrants seeking asylum are fleeing crises and engender more sympathy. —

Jeffery C. Mays, New York Times, 2 May 2023 Alabama's governor shared her sympathy and frustration on Twitter. —

Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 17 Apr. 2023 Mayor Tom Menino received some 1,800 sympathy letters. —

Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Apr. 2023 Some, like Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, have offered sympathy and prayers. —

Candy Woodall, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sympathy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin sympathia, from Greek sympatheia, from sympathēs having common feelings, sympathetic, from syn- + pathos feelings, emotion, experience — more at pathos

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of sympathy was in 1579

See more words from the same year