sympathy
SIM-puh-thee
/ˈsɪmpəθi/
Feelings of pity, sorrow, or concern for someone else's misfortune.
Maintains a boundary between the self and the other; you acknowledge their pain and offer care without necessarily feeling the exact emotion yourself.
The story behind the word. Borrowed in the 16th century directly from Greek 'sympatheia', meaning 'fellow feeling' or 'harmony of feeling'. Early medical writers used it to describe how one part of the body responds to injury in another part.
Word relationships
- condolence: Condolence refers specifically to formal expressions of sorrow after a death, while sympathy is broader.
- antipathy: Antipathy is active dislike or hostility toward someone, opposite to sympathetic concern.
Commonly confused with
- empathy: Sympathy offers comfort from your own perspective; empathy feels the emotional burden from theirs.
Word family
- sympathetic (adjective): Showing or feeling sympathy.
- sympathize (verb): To feel or express sympathy.
Collocations
- deepest sympathy
- express sympathy
- extend sympathy
- in sympathy with
Idioms & expressions
- card of sympathy
Example sentences
- "I offer my deepest sympathy to your family during this period of tragic loss." Formal letter of mourning
- "Please allow me to express my sincere sympathy for the terrible ordeal you have survived." Literary classic
Memory hook
SYMpathy is sending a SYMbol of care (like a card) when someone hurts. Feeling for, standing near.
When not to use
Do not use if you are fully internalizing and feeling the exact emotional distress of the other person; use empathy instead.
Fun facts
- In physics, 'sympathetic resonance' describes how a vibrating tuning fork causes an adjacent untouched tuning fork to vibrate at the same frequency.
Related words
Explore more words
sympathetic, sympathize, compassionate, empathetic, alas, indifferent
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