SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
empathy
noun
The capacity to understand or share another person's feelings or perspective.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
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Understanding another's experience
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topCompassion adds concern for suffering; empathy concerns understanding or sharing another's experience.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See empathy in use
Reading the letters deepened her empathy for the narrator.
At the next workshop, Hana noticed that Tomas looked dejected after learning that his submission had not been selected. He became despondent while discussing it, saying that the decision seemed to show there was no point in trying another venue. Hana tried to respond with empathy instead of comparing his disappointment with her own good news.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license