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 Tusk government's efforts to reverse those changes have repeatedly been blocked by two successive presidents sympathetic to Law and Justice. — ABC News, 24 July 2026

Despite the cost of tickets, which start from £128 ($170) and go up to £500, fans who hoped to see the actor have been sympathetic albeit understandably disappointed. — K.j. Yossman, Variety, 24 July 2026

The latest victim is Saudi Arabia—not a sympathetic victim, maybe, but a victim all the same. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026

Nakassis, who has spent his career studying the archaeological record of the Mycenaean and other early Greek civilizations, is sympathetic to the practical challenge a film production depicting the ancient world faces. — Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 22 July 2026