empathize

especially British, em·pa·thise

[em-puh-thahyz]

verb (used without object)

empathized, empathizing 

1. to experience empathy (often followed bywith ).

   His ability to empathize with people made him an excellent marriage counselor.

empathize

/ ˈɛmpəˌθaɪz /

verb

1. (intr) to engage in or feel empathy

Word History and Origins

Origin of empathize¹

First recorded in 1920–25; empath(y) + -ize

Example Sentences

I empathize with those in my generation who have adopted socialist views.

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His former aides have said they regret not doing more to empathize with voters’ concerns.

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She played nine holes of a pro-am round Monday with tournament host Sorenstam, who empathized with the difficulty of handling an intense swirl of criticism and support.

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“We’re asking people to empathize with a monster, with something that was the slasher in a slasher movie to some degree, decades ago.”

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She and her husband empathized with their intended parents, who were coping with the sudden loss of tens of thousands of dollars.

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Related Words

• sympathize 

When To Use

What does empathize mean?

To empathize with someone is to imagine or try to deeply understand what they are feeling or what it’s like to be in their situation.The ability or the practice of doing this is called empathy, which is often described as the ability to feel what others are feeling as if you are feeling it yourself. So, to empathize is to feel empathy for someone. People who do this are described as empathetic.Some people use the word empathize interchangeably or in overlapping ways with the word sympathize, which generally means to share someone else’s emotions, especially sadness. However, others distinguish the two terms by emphasizing the importance of empathizing with others (feeling their pain) as opposed to sympathizing with them (feeling sorry for them).Example: Having faced many of the same challenges, Nyala is able to empathize with other immigrants and what they go through.