Empathy is when you are able to feel for someone because you have experienced or are going through the same thing. Denotation is the direct, dictionary meaning of a word, what
… the word literally means. The denotation of empathy is what I just said, feeling for someone because you know through past experience what it feels like to be going through what they are. The connotation of empathy is used more often than the denotation of empathy simply because that's how words work in the English language, the meaning of the word according to the context (connotation) is used more often than a words literal meaning (denotation) The connotation of empathy can vary depending on the context that the word is used in, but most often it is used with the word with. With suggests that you are feeling with the person. Sometimes empathy is used with the word for, but this suggests that you are feeling at the person, rather than with them. When the word for is used rather than with, empathy's connotation changes. ( Full Answer )