compassionate

[ adjective kuhm-pash-uh-nit; verb kuhm-pash-uh-neyt ]

/ adjective kəmˈpæʃ ə nɪt; verb kəmˈpæʃ əˌneɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR compassionate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having or showing compassion: a compassionate person; a compassionate letter.

granted in an emergency: compassionate military leave granted to attend a funeral.

Obsolete. pitiable.

verb (used with object), com·pas·sion·at·ed, com·pas·sion·at·ing.

Archaic. to pity or have compassion for.

Nearby words

compass saw, compass window, compassion, compassion club, compassion fatigue, compassionate, compassionate conservative, compaternity, compathy, compatible, compatriot

Origin of compassionate

First recorded in 1580–90; compassion + -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR compassionate

1 pitying, sympathizing, sympathetic, tender.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR compassionate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

com·pas·sion·ate·ly, adverbcom·pas·sion·ate·ness, nounun·com·pas·sion·ate, adjectiveun·com·pas·sion·ate·ly, adverb

un·com·pas·sion·ate·ness, noun

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

Examples from the Web for compassionate

There is a procedure called “compassionate release” allowing terminally ill men to die at home.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison|Daniel Genis|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The compassionate release was cancelled and he was sent back to his cell.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison|Daniel Genis|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I know there are police officers who are kind, compassionate, and smart.
Are College Educated Police Safer?|Keli Goff|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
People were attracted to early Christianity by its compassionate egalitarianism.
Karen Armstrong’s New Rule: Religion Isn’t Responsible for Violence|Patricia Pearson|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Such is the Sierra Leonean way, the most tolerant, compassionate, and friendly people I have found anywhere.
In Sierra Leone, the Plague Is Closing in Around Us|Ned Eustace|October 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is as if the knightly purity of the compassionate face above him has revealed the man to himself in his loathsome degradation.
Van Dyck|Estelle M. Hurll
He had fully laced them, and she had almost a compassionate moment as she thought how wet and cold his feet must be.
The Best Short Stories of 1920|Various
Thou seest not any fault in the creation of the Compassionate.
Selections From The Kur-an|Edward William Lane
This he does by the revelation of the Fatherhood of God, which is not only compassionate but also holy.
The Ascent of the Soul|Amory H. Bradford
And when, at last, she had to leave me, it was with compassionate cries and little backward flights.
The Little White Bird|J. M. Barrie

British Dictionary definitions for compassionate

compassionate

/ (kəmˈpæʃənət) /

adjective

showing or having compassion

compassionate leave leave granted, esp to a serviceman, on the grounds of bereavement, family illness, etc

Derived Forms

compassionately, adverbcompassionateness, noun

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