empathy
EM-puh-thee
/ˈɛmpəθi/
The ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, or experiences of another person by mentally placing oneself in their position.
Requires imaginative projection into another's inner life, feeling with them rather than merely feeling sorry for them.
The story behind the word. Coined in 1909 by psychologist Edward Titchener as a translation of the German psychological term 'Einfühlung' (literally 'feeling into'). German philosophers used it to describe how an observer projects their own personality into a work of art, which Titchener adapted to human interpersonal understanding.
Word relationships
- sympathy: Sympathy involves feeling sorrow or pity for someone else's hardship, whereas empathy involves personally experiencing their perspective.
- apathy: Apathy is a complete lack of feeling, concern, or interest, contrasting sharply with empathy's emotional engagement.
Commonly confused with
- sympathy: Empathy is feeling with someone; sympathy is feeling for someone from a distance.
Word family
- empathetic (adjective): Showing or feeling empathy.
- empathize (verb): To express or feel empathy.
Collocations
- deep empathy
- empathy gap
- cultivate empathy
- demonstrate empathy
Idioms & expressions
- walk in someone else's shoes
Example sentences
- "Empathy requires an intentional step into another person's emotional reality to grasp what they are enduring." Psychological clinical setting
- "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." Literature quote
Memory hook
EMpathy means entering EMotionally into someone else's shoes. In their shoes, in their mind.
When not to use
Do not use when you simply express formal condolences or feel detached sorrow without internalizing their perspective.
Fun facts
- The term empathy is relatively new in English, created in the early 20th century, whereas sympathy has been used since the 1500s.
Related words
Explore more words
empathetic, sympathetic, sympathize, vicarious, compassionate, heartfelt
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