commiserate

[ kuh-miz-uh-reyt ]

/ kəˈmɪz əˌreɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR commiserate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), com·mis·er·at·ed, com·mis·er·at·ing.

to feel or express sorrow or sympathy for; empathize with; pity.

verb (used without object), com·mis·er·at·ed, com·mis·er·at·ing.

to sympathize (usually followed by with): They commiserated with him over the loss of his job.

Nearby words

comminute, comminuted, comminuted fracture, comminutor, commis, commiserate, commish, commissaire, commissar, commissariat, commissary

Origin of commiserate

1585–95; < Latin commiserātus (past participle of commiserārī), equivalent to com- com- + miser pitiable (see misery) + -ātus -ate¹

Related forms

com·mis·er·a·ble, adjectivecom·mis·er·a·tion, nouncom·mis·er·a·tive, adjectivecom·mis·er·a·tive·ly, adverb

com·mis·er·a·tor, nounnon·com·mis·er·a·tion, nounnon·com·mis·er·a·tive, adjectivenon·com·mis·er·a·tive·ly, adverbun·com·mis·er·at·ed, adjectiveun·com·mis·er·at·ing, adjectiveun·com·mis·er·a·tive, adjectiveun·com·mis·er·a·tive·ly, adverb

Can be confused

commensurate commiserate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for commiserate

So she called another really famous pop star to commiserate and ask for advice.
Ariana Grande, This Is How to Be a Diva|Tim Teeman|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After McCain takes the Florida primary, Romney gathers his troops in a hotel room to commiserate.
Inside ‘Mitt,’ Netflix’s All-Access Mitt Romney Documentary|Marlow Stern|January 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And when he invites a wheelchair-bound guest to commiserate with him about his bubble-wrapped foot, things go downhill from there.
The Office's Michael Scott's Funniest Moments|Sujay Kumar|April 28, 2011|DAILY BEAST
No one seemed at hand to commiserate her sufferings, to supply her wants, or to assist her weakness.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II|Francis Augustus Cox

Is not my meditation rather to be inclined another way, to condole and commiserate their distress who have none?
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions|John Donne
There is, however, room to commiserate Keller Bey, from whom these things were hidden.
A Tatter of Scarlet|S. R. Crockett
Here and there a star peeped out as though to commiserate Athens upon its loneliness.
Across the Mesa|Jarvis Hall
And these are the people who commiserate an Englishman on being compelled to live in our cold, damp, foggy island!
Diversions in Sicily|H. Festing Jones

British Dictionary definitions for commiserate

commiserate

/ (kəˈmɪzəˌreɪt) /

verb

(when intr, usually foll by with) to feel or express sympathy or compassion (for)

Derived Forms

commiserable, adjectivecommiseration, nouncommiserative, adjectivecommiseratively, adverb

commiserator, noun

Word Origin for commiserate

C17: from Latin commiserārī, from com- together + miserārī to bewail, pity, from miser wretched

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

commiserate

verb (used with object), com·mis·er·at·ed, com·mis·er·at·ing.

verb (used without object), com·mis·er·at·ed, com·mis·er·at·ing.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of commiserate

Related forms

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for commiserate

British Dictionary definitions for commiserate

commiserate

verb

Derived Forms

Word Origin for commiserate