sympathetic
sympathetic Lexical Profile
sympathetic Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Feeling, showing, or expressing pity, sorrow, and compassion for the hardships or distress of another person.
"The counselor offered a sympathetic ear to the students who were struggling with exam stress."
Showing approval of or favor toward an idea, cause, or course of action.
"Many local business owners were sympathetic to the proposal to pedestrianize the historic downtown street."
Pleasing, likable, or attracting the goodwill of others (especially of a fictional character or public figure); fitting harmoniously with one's surroundings or mood.
"Despite his flaws, the protagonist remains a deeply sympathetic figure throughout the novel."
Relating to or denoting the part of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for physical activity or stress by accelerating the heart rate, constricting blood vessels, and raising blood pressure.
"The sudden loud noise triggered an immediate sympathetic nervous system response."
Relating to a vibration or sound produced in one body in response to vibrations of the same frequency from a neighboring source.
"The sitar features a set of sympathetic strings that resonate beneath the main playing strings."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Sympathetic" is often confused with "empathetic": being sympathetic means feeling care, pity, or sorrow for someone else's misfortune, whereas being empathetic means directly sharing and experiencing another person's feelings as if they were one's own.
• Rhymes for sympathetic
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the mid-17th century from Late Latin sympathia, borrowed from Ancient Greek sympatheia ('fellow-feeling, community of feeling'), combining syn- ('together') and pathos ('feeling, emotion, or suffering').