What does "compersion" mean?
Vicarious joy associated with seeing one's partner have a joyful romantic or sexual relationship with another person.
Compersion
/kəmˈpɜːʒn̩/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Vicarious joy associated with seeing one's partner have a joyful romantic or sexual relationship with another person.
- Grammar: compersion is listed as noun.
- Useful contrasts: jealousy.
- Usage evidence: A major component of jealousy, for many people, is the suspicion or resentment of the rival. In Kerista, on the other hand, the relationship that every man had with the other men and that every woman had with the other women elicited what they called "compersion" rather than jealousy. "Compersion is the positive warm feeling you experience when you see two of your partners having fun with each other. It's the antonym of jealousy."
How to use "compersion"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "compersion" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "compersion" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "compersion" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "compersion" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Vicarious joy associated with seeing one's partner have a joyful romantic or sexual relationship with another person. neologism, uncountable
- 2 The feeling of joy one has experiencing another's joy, such as in witnessing a toddler's joy and feeling joy in response. neologism, uncountable
"A major component of jealousy, for many people, is the suspicion or resentment of the rival. In Kerista, on the other hand, the relationship that every man had with the other men and that every woman had with the other women elicited what they called "compersion" rather than jealousy. "Compersion is the positive warm feeling you experience when you see two of your partners having fun with each other. It's the antonym of jealousy.""
Antonyms
Example
"A major component of jealousy, for many people, is the suspicion or resentment of the rival. In Kerista, on the other hand, the relationship that every man had with the other men and that every woman had with the other women elicited what they called "compersion" rather than jealousy. "Compersion is the positive warm feeling you experience when you see two of your partners having fun with each other. It's the antonym of jealousy.""
Common questions
How do you use "compersion" in a sentence?
A major component of jealousy, for many people, is the suspicion or resentment of the rival. In Kerista, on the other hand, the relationship that every man had with the other men and that every woman had with the other women elicited what they called "compersion" rather than jealousy. "Compersion is the positive warm feeling you experience when you see two of your partners having fun with each other. It's the antonym of jealousy."
How do you pronounce "compersion"?
Pronounced /kəmˈpɜːʒn̩/.
Etymology
Coined in the early 1990s by a group of members of the Kerista Commune, a polyamorous group based in San Francisco, California, U.S.A., in existence between 1956 and 1991, apparently randomly using an alphabet board (similar to a Ouija board), with -ion (suffix forming nouns). The hypothesis that the word is derived from French compère (“partner”) + English -sion (a variant of -tion (suffix forming nouns)), based on an earlier use of French compérage by the French anthropologist and ethnologist Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009) to denote the practice of brothers-in-law sharing wives observed among Tupi people of the Brazilian Amazon, is less plausible: a website run by former members of the community states that neither the word compérage nor Lévi-Strauss’s work was known to them at the time, and the formation of the word in this way does not correspond to any known morphological process.