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

Urushadze presents a sympathetic portrait of Niaz, a man who once embodied a certain type of swaggering masculinity but now seems adrift in the modern world. — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026

In 1989, the death of Hu Yaobang, the former party general secretary, widely seen as sympathetic to political reform, prompted pro-democracy demonstrations that culminated in a bloody crackdown on Tiananmen Square. — Reuters, NBC news, 18 Aug. 2026

At the entrance, a security guard handed me a roll of paper towels with a sympathetic look. — Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

As the patient and sympathetic artistic director of Camp Rock and uncle of the members of Connect 3, Brown has a chill personality. — Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026