sympathize
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to be in sympathy or agreement of feeling; share in a feeling (often followed bywith ).
-
to feel a compassionate sympathy, as for suffering or trouble (often followed bywith ).
-
to express sympathy or condole (often followed bywith ).
-
to be in approving accord, as with a person or cause.
to sympathize with a person's aims.
- Synonyms:
- support, back, favor, approve, understand
-
to agree, correspond, or accord.
verb
-
to feel or express compassion or sympathy (for); commiserate
he sympathized with my troubles
-
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
Derived Forms
-
sympathizernoun
-
presympathizeverb (used without object)
-
nonsympathizingadjective
-
unsympathizedadjective
-
unsympathizingadjective
-
nonsympathizinglyadverb
-
sympathizinglyadverb
-
unsympathizinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sympathizesimple
-
sympathizessimple
-
have sympathizedperfect
-
has sympathizedperfect
-
am sympathizingprogressive
-
are sympathizingprogressive
-
is sympathizingprogressive
-
have been sympathizingperfect progressive
-
has been sympathizingperfect progressive
Past
-
sympathizedsimple
-
had sympathizedperfect
-
was sympathizingprogressive
-
were sympathizingprogressive
-
had been sympathizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sympathize
First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French sympathiser; from sympath(ie) sympathy + -iser -ize
Explanation
When you sympathize, you care about how someone else feels during a time of trouble. If you sympathize with your brother, whose best friend is moving away, you understand why he's feeling sad. When you sympathize, you care, so you might sympathize with the victims of an earthquake in a foreign country or a child who's waiting for her turn on a merry-go-round. Sympathize comes from the Greek sympathes, have a fellow feeling for. It's sometimes confused with empathize, which means putting yourself in someone else's shoes, rather than simply caring about them.
Vocabulary lists containing sympathize
Nothing But the Truth
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Martian Chronicles
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Charles and Emma
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
“We can say this—that killing innocent people is wrong and we sympathize with them.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Still, the movie seems to sympathize with many Americans’ misplaced faith in the remoteness of nuclear war.
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2026
"It's quite easy to make a version of that story where he's a sort of toxic incel male conspiracy theorist nut who you don't really sympathize with," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026
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.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
He has persuaded Dud not just to sympathize with, but actually to inhabit his position.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
The fashion designer and bridal boutique owner sympathizes with retailers grappling with the penny problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
While he sympathizes with the occasional need to chill at home, he also notes it's unsettling that it's a wildly popular discourse.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2025
But she also believes “it doesn’t have to be a competition” and sympathizes with the nearly 6,000 migrant children now enrolled in Chicago’s public schools.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 2024
While he sympathizes with the financial challenges restaurants are facing, he said the charge “really kind of stung.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2024
Of her three children, Celia sympathizes most with her son.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
A 2023 Gallup Pakistan poll found that only 2% of respondents sympathized with the Jewish state.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
In 2023, according to New York Times polling, 34 percent of Democrats sympathized with Israel and 31 percent with Palestinians.
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2025
Abcarian sympathized with readers lashing out at the paper’s ownership.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2024
Many people sympathized with the workers and even called for Costco to start revoking memberships.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2024
These workers who sympathized with Nazario knew that they had a union, so it would be difficult for them to lose their jobs.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
While sympathizing with the need for more affordable housing, Maupin said in a video posted on Facebook that Align’s proposal is “a bit of a monstrosity, from the pictures I’ve seen.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
Another supervisor came out and tried to defuse the situation, half lecturing, half sympathizing.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2025
Playing both roles has been therapeutic; it’s been an opportunity to voice my frustrations as a son while also sympathizing with the father character.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025
"Something about Bowen being the one to voice this joke despite his interview with Chappell sympathizing with her concerns less than a month ago makes me sad," one person wrote in a post to X.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
Some have nothing to do with Lincoln’s death, like James Pumphrey, the Confederate- sympathizing owner of a stable, who spent a month behind bars.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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.
