sympathize

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   To feel and show sorrow for someone who is in trouble or in pain.

   Grammar: No object; used with with: I sympathize with you.

   Patterns

   • sympathize with someone
   • sympathize with someone over something

   I sympathize with you after such a hard week.

   She sympathized with her neighbor over the loss.

   We all sympathize with the families affected.

2. 2verbintransitive

   To understand or agree with someone's ideas, feelings, or cause.

   Grammar: Also takes with: sympathize with a cause.

   Patterns

   • sympathize with a view
   • sympathize with a cause

   Many people sympathize with the protesters' aims.

   I sympathize with your point, but the rule stays.

Word forms

Common combinations

sympathize with

I sympathize with students who are worried.

deeply sympathize

We deeply sympathize with your loss.

sympathize over

They sympathized over a bad day.

easy to sympathize

It's easy to sympathize with the hero.

sympathize with a view

I sympathize with that view.

Synonyms and how they differ

empathize

Empathize means sharing the feelings by imagining yourself in their place, which is deeper than sympathize.

commiserate

Commiserate means showing sorrow together, often over a shared bad event.

pity

Pity can sound condescending, while sympathize sounds warm and equal.

console

Console means to comfort actively, while sympathize may be only feeling.

Opposites

Word family

sympathy noun

feelings of sorrow for another

sympathetic adjective

showing care or understanding

sympathizer noun

a person who supports a cause

sympathetically adverb

in a caring way

Commonly confused: sympathize or empathize?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sympathize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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