Meaning & use
sympathisers
Last updated
“sympathisers” is a form of “sympathiser”.
Meanings
nouncountable
People who support or feel sorry for a person, group, or idea, often without being members of it.
Grammar: Countable noun; the singular is 'sympathiser'. Use 'a sympathiser of/with something'.
Patterns
- a sympathiser of something
- a sympathiser with someone
- sympathisers of a cause
The protest attracted hundreds of sympathisers, though only a few were actual members of the group.
Police kept the marchers away from known sympathisers of the banned organization.
She described herself as a sympathiser with the workers' demands rather than an activist.
nouncountable
People who feel sadness or pity because someone is suffering or has had bad luck.
Grammar: Countable; often used in the phrase 'sympathisers with the family' after a death or disaster.
Patterns
- sympathisers with someone
- sympathisers with the family
- send sympathisers
Among the sympathisers who wrote to the hospital were many former patients.
The family thanked the sympathisers who had sent flowers and cards.
Word forms
| singular | sympathiser |
|---|---|
| American spelling | sympathizer |
Common combinations
- a sympathiser with
- He was known as a sympathiser with the rebel cause.
- sympathisers of the regime
- The newspaper was accused of being full of sympathisers of the old regime.
- active sympathisers
- The group had few active sympathisers but many quiet supporters.
- known sympathisers
- Known sympathisers were watched closely by the authorities.
Synonyms and how they differ
- supporter
- A supporter actively backs a person or team; a sympathiser may only agree with the ideas and not act.
- well-wisher
- A well-wisher wants good things for you personally, while a sympathiser shares a cause or feels pity.
- ally
- An ally works with you on a practical level; a sympathiser is often less committed.
Opposites
Word family
- sympathy noun
- The feeling of being sorry for someone or agreeing with a cause.
- sympathize verb
- To feel or express sympathy.
- sympathetic adjective
- Showing that you understand and care about someone's problems.
- sympathetically adverb
- In a way that shows sympathy.
Commonly confused: sympathisers or sympathizer? sympathisers or sympathies?
sympathisers vs sympathizer
This is the American spelling of the same word; 'sympathisers' with -s- is British.
sympathisers vs sympathies
'Sympathies' means feelings of pity or support, not the people who have them.
Practice
The charity thanked all its ______ for the money and messages they sent.
Choose one answer.
We need a plural noun for people who support the charity, so 'sympathisers' fits. 'Sympathies' means feelings, 'sympathetic' is an adjective, and 'sympathise' is a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sympathisers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.