Meaning & use
commiserating
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“commiserating” is a form of “commiserate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Showing sympathy by sharing sadness with someone over their bad luck or disappointment.
Grammar: Usually followed by with: commiserating with a friend.
Patterns
- commiserate with someone
- commiserate over something
She was commiserating with her sister about the failed exam.
They spent the evening commiserating over their team's defeat.
Neighbors were commiserating about the broken heating.
verbintransitiveinformal
Sharing complaints with others who face the same problem, as a way of bonding.
Grammar: Often mutual and informal: we commiserated together.
Patterns
- commiserate together
- commiserate about something
The commuters were commiserating about the delayed train.
We sat at the bar commiserating about our bosses.
Parents were commiserating over the cost of school trips.
Word forms
| third person singular | commiserates |
|---|---|
| past tense | commiserated |
| past participle | commiserated |
| -ing form | commiserating |
Common combinations
- commiserate with
- I called to commiserate with her after the loss.
- commiserate over
- They commiserated over coffee.
- commiserating look
- He gave me a commiserating look.
- commiserate together
- The teammates commiserated together after the match.
- commiserating message
- A commiserating message arrived after the news.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sympathize
- Sympathize is broader and can be silent understanding, while commiserate usually involves saying so and sharing the disappointment.
- console
- Console means to comfort someone, but commiserate suggests sharing the feeling as an equal.
- empathize
- Empathize means imagining another's feelings, but not necessarily expressing it or sharing complaints.
- condole
- Condole is formal and used mainly for death or bereavement.
Opposites
Word family
- commiseration noun
- an expression of sympathy
- commiserate verb
- to share sadness or complaint
- commiserative adjective
- expressing sympathy, a rare word
- commiserations noun
- words of sympathy, often said after a defeat
Commonly confused: commiserating or commemorating? commiserating or congratulating?
commiserating vs commemorating
Commemorating means honoring a person or event, while commiserating means sharing sympathy about bad luck.
commiserating vs congratulating
Congratulating celebrates someone's success; commiserating shares sorrow over failure.
Practice
After the match, the players spent an hour ______ their narrow defeat.
Choose one answer.
Commiserating about means sharing sadness over the defeat. Commemorating suggests honoring an event, which does not fit a lost match.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “commiserating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.