sympathize
Americanverb (used without object)
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to be in sympathy or agreement of feeling; share in a feeling (often followed bywith ).
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to feel a compassionate sympathy, as for suffering or trouble (often followed bywith ).
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to express sympathy or condole (often followed bywith ).
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to be in approving accord, as with a person or cause.
to sympathize with a person's aims.
- Synonyms:
- support, back, favor, approve, understand
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to agree, correspond, or accord.
verb
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to feel or express compassion or sympathy (for); commiserate
he sympathized with my troubles
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to share or understand the sentiments or ideas (of); be in sympathy (with)
Usage
What does sympathize mean? To sympathize with someone is to feel sympathy for them—to share their emotions, especially sadness.This is usually understood to mean that you feel bad for them because they are in a negative situation.The word sympathize can also mean to offer one’s sympathies or condolences, such as to someone who is in mourning.Sympathize also sometimes means to be supportive of or loyal to someone or something, such as a leader or cause, as in Many working class voters sympathize with the senator’s platform. The word sympathizer is especially used to refer to someone who sympathizes in this way.Someone who sympathizes can be described as sympathetic. Sympathetic can also be used to describe someone who causes you to sympathize with them.Some people use the word sympathize interchangeably or in overlapping ways with the word empathize, which means to have empathy—to imagine or try to deeply understand what someone is feeling or what it’s like to be in their situation. 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: I’ve experienced the same thing, so I can sympathize.
Other Word Forms
- nonsympathizing adjective
- nonsympathizingly adverb
- presympathize verb (used without object)
- sympathizer noun
- sympathizingly adverb
- unsympathized adjective
- unsympathizing adjective
- unsympathizingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of sympathize
First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French sympathiser; from sympath(ie) sympathy + -iser -ize
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.
He not only sympathized with our loss but also shared our heartbreak as he described his own very personal connection to the Palisades fire.
From Los Angeles Times
But it wasn’t always easy to sympathize with his trials and tribulations in the most elite enclaves of Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times
In Odessa, today a part of Ukraine, the townsfolk sympathize with the mutineers, and pay homage to the one dead member of the Potemkin’s crew, a symbol of injustice.
Still, Allen can sympathize with what he calls the “weird conundrum” that Garrett is going through by having such a successful season on a team that’s floundering.
A valid view, but not one with which I can sympathize.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
