Synonyms of compassionate

compassionate 1 of 2

adjective

kəm-ˈpa-sh(ə-)nət 

1

as in benevolent

having or marked by sympathy and consideration for others

a compassionate person by nature

Synonyms & Similar Words

• benevolent
• kind
• humane
• sympathetic
• thoughtful
• gentle
• gracious
• friendly
• merciful
• kindly
• kindhearted
• generous
• nice
• beneficent
• sweet
• attentive
• humanitarian
• good-hearted
• benignant
• warmhearted
• softhearted
• tenderhearted
• good
• tender
• pleasant
• patient
• considerate
• warm
• solicitous
• charitable
• benign
• good-natured
• affable
• mild
• pitying
• soft
• noble
• selfless
• forgiving
• companionable
• tolerant
• genial
• liberal
• neighborly
• amicable
• cordial
• lenient
• unselfish
• forbearing
• altruistic
• magnanimous
• understanding
• philanthropic
• good-tempered
• comradely
• brotherly
• munificent
• unsparing
• openhearted
• clement
• cruelty-free
• greathearted
• freehanded
• anticruelty

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cruel
• callous
• brutal
• heartless
• vicious
• savage
• sadistic
• unsympathetic
• inhuman
• unkind
• ruthless
• inhumane
• unfeeling
• barbaric
• barbarous
• bestial
• brute
• brutish
• pitiless
• truculent
• atrocious
• merciless
• insensate
• fiendish
• insensitive
• uncompassionate
• uncaring
• thoughtless
• severe
• hard-hearted
• cold-blooded
• tough
• stern
• unthinking
• harsh
• inconsiderate
• grim
• unsentimental
• unkindly
• malignant
• wanton
• hateful
• malicious
• virulent
• malevolent
• spiteful
• mean
• ironhearted
• nasty
• malign
• stonyhearted
• uncharitable
• heavy-handed
• hard-boiled
• antihumanitarian

2

as in sympathetic

having or showing the capacity for sharing the feelings of another

a compassionate smile made the refugees feel a little better

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sympathetic
• empathetic
• humane
• empathic
• gentle
• understanding
• loving
• affectionate
• benevolent
• warm
• gracious
• merciful
• commiserative
• friendly
• charitable
• feeling
• kind
• sensitive
• perceptive
• kindly
• considerate
• magnanimous
• kindhearted
• tolerant
• lenient
• pitying
• softhearted
• warmhearted
• good-natured
• benignant
• tenderhearted
• congenial
• bighearted
• tender
• cordial
• good-tempered
• genial
• well-disposed
• largehearted
• clement
• ruthful

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• callous
• heartless
• unsympathetic
• inhuman
• hard
• inhumane
• unfeeling
• insensitive
• obdurate
• thoughtless
• cold-blooded
• indifferent
• aloof
• insensate
• unthinking
• uncaring
• cool
• inconsiderate
• uninterested
• ruthless
• coldhearted
• hard-hearted
• unfriendly
• pitiless
• unloving
• merciless
• bigoted
• tough
• brutal
• stern
• severe
• harsh
• hostile
• oppressive
• grim
• unaffectionate
• unrelenting
• hateful
• abusive
• rough
• malicious
• unkind
• malevolent
• ungentle
• spiteful
• virulent
• disagreeable
• surly
• mean
• narrow-minded
• blinkered
• acrimonious
• rancorous
• small-minded
• hard-bitten
• hard-boiled
• ill-tempered
• ill-natured

compassionate

2 of 2

verb

kəm-ˈpa-shə-ˌnāt 

as in to pity

to have sympathy for

a gentle soul who could compassionate even the most reprobate of scoundrels and villains

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pity
• love
• feel (for)
• bleed (for)
• sympathize (with)
• condole (with)
• yearn (over)
• commiserate (with)
• understand
• ache (for)
• sorrow (for)
• grieve (for)
• tolerate
• care (for)
• identify (with)
• empathize (with)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignore
• disregard
• neglect
• hate
• overlook
• dislike
• scorn

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of compassionate

Adjective

Social Security uses technology to scan disability applications for conditions on the compassionate allowances list, and those applications often receive approval within days, according to one law firm. — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

Those of us who want the group to continue are torn between enjoying this pastime and being compassionate for this individual. — R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2026

Verb

Modern Legal is not only a firm dedicated to compassionate legal advocacy but also underscores the critical role of education in empowering individuals. — Chris Gallagher, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025

Yet while 67% of white people who are eligible for PrEP are on it, only 8% eligible Black people are, often citing lack of access to healthcare or to compassionate healthcare. — Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, 20 Apr. 2023