commiseration

American  

[kuh-miz-uh-rey-shuhn] / kəˌmɪz əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of empathizing, or expressing sympathy or sorrow for someone about something.

   Taking the seat next to him, she put her arm around his shoulders in silent commiseration.

2. commiserations, an expression of sympathy or sorrow for someone.

   All my thanks and commiserations to the dedicated staff, many of whom I expect will lose their jobs in the cutbacks.

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Other Word Forms

• noncommiseration noun

Etymology

Origin of commiseration

First recorded in 1570–80; commiserat(e) ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

Talking about it with other people strikes up genuine conversation and commiseration.

From Salon

A celebration of Black women, and a ticked-off commiseration for all the nonsense thrown their way, it names a host of psychic poisons and puts them on display.

From New York Times

Charles, who was attending church near Balmoral with the Queen during the match, also sent his thoughts and commiserations to the team.

From BBC

Charles had urged the Lionesses to “roar to victory” in a social media post before the game, and offered his commiserations after the loss.

From Washington Times

Instead, they were mostly gestures of commiseration after the tech giant began cutting 18,000 jobs that January morning.

From Washington Post