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

The Cuban resolution passed with the support of several African and Asian countries, Cuba’s traditional allies like China and Russia as well as other sympathetic governments in Europe (Spain), Latin America (Colombia, Mexico), and the Caribbean. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 7 July 2026

Gemma Chan’s chic Gigi, a sympathetic follower of Hollis’s, is a bit of a mystery. — Judy Berman, Time, 6 July 2026

The questionable decision to eject him from the game immediately turned Balogun into a sympathetic figure. — Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 2 July 2026

Such passages portrayed his brother – and by association, Morrison – as sympathetic toward Black people. — Christopher Lynch, The Conversation, 1 July 2026