Synonyms of sympathetic

sympathetic

adjective

ˌsim-pə-ˈthe-tik 

1

as in compassionate

having or showing the capacity for sharing the feelings of another

a sympathetic smile

needed a sympathetic listener who would understand her marital woes

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

as in benevolent

having or marked by sympathy and consideration for others

a sympathetic store manager who let us use the telephone

sympathetic letters from supporters after the disappointing verdict

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sympathetic

However, gathering in sympathetic support outside a courthouse will not fix anything. — Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026

With the request for an Amber Alert — a public notification of a missing child thought be in danger — the sheriff’s office presented a more sympathetic view of the teen. — Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026

Though sympathetic to the onslaught of treatments Zai is facing, the meek, protective Minoti warns her of the repercussions of rebellion. — Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026

Its founders and many of its early employees were sympathetic to the utilitarian philosophical movement known as effective altruism. — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2026