sympathize

/ˌsɪmpəˈθaɪz/

/ˈsɪmpəθaɪz/

Other forms: sympathized; sympathizing; sympathizes

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.

Definitions of sympathize

1. verb

   to feel or express sympathy or compassion
   synonyms: commiserate, sympathise

   types:

   condole

   express one's sympathetic grief, on the occasion of someone's death

   type of:

   compassionate, condole with, feel for, pity, sympathize with

   share the suffering of
2. verb

   share the feelings of; understand the sentiments of
   synonyms: sympathise

   type of:

   experience, feel

   undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
3. verb

   be understanding of
   synonyms: empathise, empathize, sympathise, understand