commiserate
Americanverb (used without object)
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commiserates,
present (3rd person singular)
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commiserated,
past participle, past
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commiserating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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commiserates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
commiserated,
past participle, past
-
commiserating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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commiserationnoun
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commiseratornoun
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commiserableadjective
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commiserativeadjective
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noncommiserativeadjective
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uncommiseratedadjective
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uncommiseratingadjective
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uncommiserativeadjective
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commiserativelyadverb
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noncommiserativelyadverb
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uncommiserativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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commiseratesimple
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commiseratessimple
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have commiseratedperfect
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has commiseratedperfect
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am commiseratingprogressive
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are commiseratingprogressive
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is commiseratingprogressive
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have been commiseratingperfect progressive
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has been commiseratingperfect progressive
Past
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commiseratedsimple
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had commiseratedperfect
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was commiseratingprogressive
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were commiseratingprogressive
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had been commiseratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of commiserate
First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin commiserātus (past participle of commiserārī ), equivalent to com- com- + miser “pitiable” ( see misery) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
When you commiserate with your buddies, you're sharing your lousy feelings. People who commiserate have the same negative feelings about something. Take a look at how commiserate is built: it's from Latin "com-," which means "together with," and miserārī, "to pity." Put them together, and you get "to pity one another, commiserate." When you commiserate, you and your fellow commiserators talk about how badly you're all feeling. After the layoffs, we all went to the bar to commiserate.
Vocabulary lists containing commiserate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Even a retreat that flops can draw employees closer while they commiserate over its lameness, adds Michael I. Norton, a Harvard Business School professor who has studied group rituals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
When Bill Ackman vented over $2 million, fellow billionaires rushed to commiserate.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 10, 2026
Brandt, a former elected member of East Hampshire District Council, claimed he wanted to commiserate with her over her failed leadership bid.
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
While a dejected England leave for home well beaten and under mounting pressure, Smith told TNT Sports he planned to have "a jar" with counterpart Stokes and commiserate.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
We snuck into each other’s rooms by night to trade secrets, argue, commiserate, spy, and continue chess games and monopoly games that had begun days earlier.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
Even if your husband commiserates with you, I wouldn’t assume that he is as bothered by his brother’s actions as you are.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
This mysterious figure commiserates with the Riddler about the plight of would-be criminal masterminds like them: “One day you’re on top, the next you’re a clown.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2022
Biden was only 10 when his father, in search of a steady job, moved the family to Delaware, a wrenching decision that Biden often cites as he commiserates with the choices facing middle-class workers.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2020
She commiserates with them on painful anniversaries - the day their children were taken away by social services, or the last time they spoke to their parents.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2017
But Chicho looks me straight in the eyes and I can tell that he commiserates with me.
From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar
Carmen Schober, the profile’s author, ignored the way members of Schmidt’s online forum, Skinni Société, commiserated about their hair loss and inability to stand without getting dizzy.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Parents in the bleachers commiserated about insurance battles and issues with landlords and having to relocate again and again and again.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
And they commiserated about life in space, and how ISS missions -- all three of the American Artemis astronauts had previously served on the ISS -- had prepared them for their historic lunar voyage.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
Lu and her sister recently commiserated about the drama.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
The other potters seemed to slump as one into dejection, all but abandoning their work in favor of long, lugubrious visits to the wine shop, where they commiserated with one another.
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
His post was flooded with comments, including people commiserating and asking him to advocate on the issue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Oh, Hi!” writer-director Sophie Brooks and Gordon are longtime friends who found themselves both back in their parents’ houses during the early stages of the pandemic and commiserating on relationship troubles and uncommunicative exes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2025
Gene Folkes had just been jettisoned as a contestant on “The Apprentice” and was commiserating with a crew member at a bar inside the lobby of Trump Tower.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
I talk to some people who—we do money commiserating and they’re like, “But you have a house.”
From Slate ● Feb. 3, 2024
Blanca and I were walking back from the subway after our night classes at Hunter, commiserating about how much work we both had.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
