empathic
empathic Lexical Profile
empathic Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Showing an ability to understand and share the feelings, experiences, or perspectives of another person.
"The counselor maintained a warm, empathic presence that helped the grieving family open up."
In science fiction and fantasy, possessing or relating to the paranormal ability to directly sense or influence the emotions of others.
"In the novel, the alien ambassador uses her empathic abilities to calm the hostile negotiators."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'empathic' (showing or relating to empathy) with the similarly spelled 'emphatic' (expressing something forcibly and clearly). While 'empathetic' is more common in everyday speech, 'empathic' is often preferred in clinical psychology and academic writing.
• Rhymes for empathic
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the early 20th century from 'empathy', which was coined by psychologist Edward Titchener from Ancient Greek 'empatheia' ('physical affection' or 'passion'), combining 'en-' ('in') and 'pathos' ('feeling'), to translate the German aesthetic term 'Einfühlung'.