sympathy

noun

SIM-puh-thee/ˈsɪm.pəθ.i/

Pluralsympathies (some meanings)

Often confused with empathy

9 meanings of sympathy

1
noununcountable
A feeling of sadness for someone who is hurting or in trouble.
Like feeling sad inside when you watch a friend cry over bad news.
She felt deep sympathy for the family who lost their home in the fire.
I have a lot of sympathy for anyone going through a hard time.
Similarcompassion, pity, empathy, commiseration, mercy
Oppositeindifference, callousness, coldness
Note
2
nouncountable or uncountableplural
Words or actions that show you feel sorry for someone's bad luck or loss.
She sent a sympathy card after hearing about his father's death.
Friends offered their sympathy at the funeral.
Similarcompassion, pity, commiseration, condolence
Note
3
noununcountable
The power to understand and share what another person is feeling.
Like feeling cold yourself when you watch someone shivering in the rain.
Her natural sympathy helps her comfort upset children at the clinic.
A good teacher needs sympathy to see things from a student's side.
Similarempathy, compassion, understanding
4
nouncountable or uncountable
A feeling of support for or agreement with someone's ideas or goals.
Many young voters feel sympathy for the green movement.
He had little sympathy with the strict new office rules.
Similarsupport, loyalty, favor, approval
Oppositeopposition, antipathy, hostility
Note
5
noununcountableplural
Help or backing that comes from sharing someone's feelings or opinions.
The drivers stopped work in sympathy with the striking miners.
Other towns showed their sympathy by joining the protest march.
Similarsupport, solidarity
Oppositeopposition
6
nouncountable or uncountable
A shared way of thinking or feeling that connects two people.
There was an instant sympathy between the two new friends.
The team worked in close sympathy from the very first day.
Similaraffinity, harmony, accord, rapport
Oppositeantipathy, discord
Note
7
noununcountable
A close link between things, so that a change in one causes a matching change in the other.
Like two swings tied with a rope, so one starts moving when the other does.
The two clocks slowly fell into sympathy and ticked together.
When one share price drops, the other often falls in sympathy.
Note
8
noununcountable
A matching reaction in one thing that is caused by a change in another.
Like one guitar string buzzing when you pluck another close to it.
When the low note sounded, a nearby string hummed in sympathy.
The hurt knee made his other leg ache in sympathy for days.
Similarresonance
9
nouncountable or uncountable
A pleasing match of shapes or colors in a work of art.
Like colors in a room that all look good together.
The mural shows a fine sympathy between its bold lines and soft colors.
There is a quiet sympathy of color across the whole painting.
Similarharmony, unity
Oppositediscord, disharmony
Note

Practice

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Origin

It came through Middle French from a Late Latin word meaning "feeling in common," which came from Greek words meaning "fellow feeling." It is made from parts meaning "together" and "feeling."