Meaning & use
sympathetic
Showing understanding, care, or compassion for someone else's feelings or troubles.
See it in a sentence
The doctor was sympathetic when I explained how anxious the diagnosis made me feel.
Readers found the flawed but sympathetic main character easy to root for.
A note on using this word
In fiction, a 'sympathetic character' means one the audience likes or relates to, not simply one who feels sympathy for others.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
unsympatheticindifferent
Make it your own
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