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Sympathy

//ˈsɪm.pəθ.i// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another. countable, uncountable

    "If you want sympathy you’ll find it in the dictionary between shit and syphilis. Sympathy may pay well in the short term, but if you cash in on sympathy, it will take everything from you in the long run."

  2. 2
    an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion wordnet
  3. 3
    A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another.; The formal expression of pity or sorrow for someone else's misfortune. countable, in-plural, uncountable

    "While you'll probably have her sympathies if your condominium association wants to preapprove your storm door, you'll need to work harder for her support if your boss at the music megastore demands you grow a goatee to help lend the place some indie cred."

  4. 4
    sharing the feelings of others (especially feelings of sorrow or anguish) wordnet
  5. 5
    A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another.; The ability to share the feelings of another. countable, uncountable
Show 7 more definitions
  1. 6
    a relation of affinity or harmony between people; whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other wordnet
  2. 7
    Inclination to think or feel alike; emotional or intellectual accord; common feeling. countable, uncountable

    "Oh vvhat a ſimpathie of vvoe is this, / As farre from helpe, as Lymbo is from bliſſe."

  3. 8
    Inclination to think or feel alike; emotional or intellectual accord; common feeling.; Support in the form of shared feelings or opinions. countable, in-plural, uncountable
  4. 9
    Inclination to think or feel alike; emotional or intellectual accord; common feeling.; Feeling of loyalty; tendency towards, agreement with or approval of an opinion or aim; a favorable attitude. countable, uncountable

    "Many people in Hollywood were blacklisted merely because they were suspected of Communist sympathies."

  5. 10
    An affinity, association or mutual relationship between people or things such that they are correspondingly affected by any condition. countable, uncountable

    "He observed, also, the frequent sympathy of volcanic and terremotive action in remote districts of the earth's surface, thus showing how deeply seated must be the cause of these convulsions."

  6. 11
    An affinity, association or mutual relationship between people or things such that they are correspondingly affected by any condition.; Mutual or parallel susceptibility or a condition brought about by it. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    An affinity, association or mutual relationship between people or things such that they are correspondingly affected by any condition.; Artistic harmony, as of shape or colour in a painting. countable, uncountable

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French sympathie, from Late Latin sympathīa (“feeling in common”), from Ancient Greek σῠμπᾰ́θειᾰ (sŭmpắtheiă, “fellow feeling”), from σῠμπᾰθής (sŭmpăthḗs, “affected by like feelings; exerting mutual influence, interacting”) + -ῐᾰ (-ĭă, “-y”, nominal suffix). Equivalent to sym- (“acting or considered together”) + -pathy (“feeling”).

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