sympathy

(sĭm'pə-thē)
n., pl., -thies.

1. 1. A relationship or an affinity between people or things in which whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other.
   2. Mutual understanding or affection arising from this relationship or affinity.
2. 1. The act or power of sharing the feelings of another.
   2. A feeling or an expression of pity or sorrow for the distress of another; compassion or commiseration. Often used in the plural. See synonyms at pity.
3. Harmonious agreement; accord: He is in sympathy with their beliefs.
4. A feeling of loyalty; allegiance. Often used in the plural: His sympathies lie with his family.
5. Physiology. A relation between parts or organs by which a disease or disorder in one induces an effect in the other.

[Latin sympathīa, from Greek sumpatheia, from sumpathēs, affected by like feelings : sun-, syn- + pathos, emotion.]

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noun

1. A very close understanding between persons: empathy. See connect, love/hatred, understand/misunderstand.
2. Sympathetic, sad concern for someone in misfortune: commiseration, compassion, condolence, empathy, pity. See pity.

n

Definition: pity
Antonyms: callousness, indifference, mercilessness

n

Definition: shared feeling
Antonyms: disdain, incompatibility, indifference

The ability to share in another person's feelings and concerns, with the accompanying delight in their joys and grief at their sorrows. Sympathy is supposed by Hume to be the basis of a more impartial concern for human well-being, and is a central plank in the ethical theory of Adam Smith.

1. An emotional feeling of regret for a person experiencing troubles. Compare empathy.

2. In physiology, the relationship between different parts of the body where a change in one part affects the other part or parts.

A mutual attraction or identity of feeling between individuals and also animals, the opposite of the reaction of antipathy. The term "sympathy" has a special significance in mesmerism or animal magnetism, where it is used to indicate the rapport between operator and subject, by means of which the operator could influence and control the perceptions of the subject. It has also been suggested that a condition of sympathy might exist between agent and percipient in telepathy, particularly in the transmission of emotions.

IN BRIEF: Ability to feel or understand the pain or troubles of others.

The more sympathy you give, the less you need. — Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990), American editor and publisher.

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Quotes:

"Strengthen me by sympathizing with my strength, not my weakness." - Amos Bronson Alcott

"Sympathy is the first condition of criticism." - Henri Frederic Amiel

"One cannot weep for the entire world, it is beyond human strength. One must choose." - Jean Anouilh

"The force of truth that a statement imparts, then, its prominence among the hordes of recorded observations that I may optionally apply to my own life, depends, in addition to the sense that it is argumentatively defensible, on the sense that someone like me, and someone I like, whose voice is audible and who is at least notionally in the same room with me, does or can possibly hold it to be compellingly true." - Nicholson Baker

"The delicate and infirm go for sympathy, not to the well and buoyant, but to those who have suffered like themselves." - Catharine Esther Beecher

"Can I see another's woe, and not be in sorrow too? Can I see another's grief, and not seek for kind relief?" - William Blake

See more famous quotes about Sympathy

An influence produced in any organ by disease or disorder in another part. See also sympathetic ophthalmia.

n

The kind understanding of a patient.

See words rhyming with "sympathy."

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - sympati, medfølelse, forståelse, deltagelse, harmoni

idioms:

• in sympathy with    i sympati med, i harmoni med

Nederlands (Dutch)
sympathie, medelijden, medeleven, goedgunstigheid

Français (French)
n. - compassion, solidarité, affinité

idioms:

• in sympathy with    (être) d' accord avec (qn), (être) du côté de (qn)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Mitgefühl, Sympathie

idioms:

• in sympathy with    mit etwas sympathisierend

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - συμπόνια, οίκτος, συμπάθεια, έκφραση συλλυπητηρίων, ομοφροσύνη, (ιατρ.) συμπάθεια

idioms:

• in sympathy with    σε ένδειξη αλληλεγγύης προς τον

Italiano (Italian)
simpatia, condoglianze

idioms:

• in sympathy with    d'accordo con

Português (Portuguese)
n. - empatia (f)

idioms:

• in sympathy with    com empatia por

Русский (Russian)
симпатия, взаимное понимание, солидарность, сострадание, соответствие

idioms:

• in sympathy with    в поддержку (кого-л.)

Español (Spanish)
n. - compasión, lástima, conmiseración, benevolencia, simpatía, condolencia, pésame

idioms:

• in sympathy with    estar en favor de, estar de acuerdo con

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sympati, medkänsla, medlidande, deltagande, harmoni

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
同情, 同感, 赞同

idioms:

• in sympathy with    一致, 同感, 赞同

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 同情, 同感, 贊同

idioms:

• in sympathy with    一致, 同感, 贊同

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 동정[심], 인정, 공감

idioms:

• in sympathy with    ~에 찬성하여, ~을 인정하여

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 同情, 弔慰, 同感, 共感, 調和, 交感, 共振

idioms:

• in sympathy with    賛成して

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تعاطف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אהדה, השתתפות ברגשות, תנחומים, סימפתיה, רחמים, הסכמה עם (עמדת הזולת)‬

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