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Sympathetic means having sympathy—having the same emotions as someone else, especially sadness.

Being sympathetic in this way is usually understood to mean that you feel bad for someone because they are in a negative situation.

Sympathetic is also sometimes used to mean supportive of or loyal to someone or something, as in The governor is trying to portray himself as sympathetic to the working class.

Sometimes, sympathetic is used to describe a person (or fictional character) who you can identify with and care about, as in His political ads try to make him look like a sympathetic figure.����

To be sympathetic toward someone is to sympathize with them. The opposite of sympathetic is unsympathetic.

Some people use the word sympathetic interchangeably or in overlapping ways with the word empathetic, which means having or tending to have empathy—the ability or practice of imagining or trying to deeply understand what someone else is feeling or what it’s like to be in their situation. However, others distinguish the two terms by emphasizing the importance of being empathetic toward others (feeling their pain) as opposed to being sympathetic toward them (feeling sorry for them).

Example: I’ve experienced the same thing, so I’m sympathetic toward them.

The first records of sympathetic come from the 1600s. It comes from the Greek ���⳾�貹�ٳ�ŧ�پ���ó��, from sym-, “with,” and ��á�ٳ�(�Dz�), “s�ܴڴڱ�����Բ�.”

Sympathetic is usually used to describe someone who shares feelings of sadness with others. When we give someone a card that expresses our condolences after the death of a loved one, we call this a sympathy card. We usually give these cards to people when we didn’t know the person who died as well as they did—we may feel sad because they’re sad, but our level of grief does not match their own.

While being sympathetic toward someone often means pitying them or feeling bad for them, being empathetic often means feeling or attempting to feel and understand exactly how a person feels and what it’s like to be them.

What are some other forms related to sympathetic?

• sympathetically (adverb)
• unsympathetic (adjective)
• sympathy (noun)

What are some synonyms for sympathetic?

• commiserating
• sensitive
• compassionate

What are some words that share a root or word element with sympathetic?��

• sympathize
• empathy
• pathos
• pathetic
• apathy
• symmetry

What are some words that often get used in discussing sympathetic?

• character
• figure
• voter
• pity
• feel
• feeling
• emotion
• care
• kindness
• condolence
• victim
• support

What are some words sympathetic may be commonly confused with?

• empathetic

Sympathetic is often used in context involving the suffering and grief of others,�� but it’s also commonly used to describe people who are supportive or in favor of something or someone.

The death of a pet can cause huge amounts of grief, I couldn’t be more sympathetic.

— Kirstie Allsopp (@KirstieMAllsopp)

It's not just white women. White men have been hosting self-pity parties for a long time, too, constantly blaming others for their own shortcomings. As a white male myself, I hear it all the time because it's assumed that I'll be a sympathetic ear. Well, I'm not. I'm disgusted.

— Donald R. Koelper (@Donald_from_HI)

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Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of sympathetic?

A. commiserating
B. compassionate
C. indifferent
D. sensitive