sympathy
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the feeling of being sorry for someone who is in a bad situation.
the feeling of pity or sorrow for the distress of another person. Uncountable in its general sense, though 'sympathies' may be used in formal condolences.
Simple“I felt great sympathy for the families who lost their homes in the flood.”
In context“The community expressed profound sympathy for the victims, organizing a fundraiser to help them recover from the tragedy.”
PitfallI have a lot of sympathy for his ideas. I have a lot of sympathy with his ideas.Use 'sympathy for' a person in pain, but 'sympathy with' an idea or cause you support.
SynonymsAntonymsindifferencecallousness - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
support for or agreement with an idea, organization, or person.
an inclination to support or agree with a particular opinion, cause, or party. Often used with the preposition 'with'.
Simple“Many young people have a lot of sympathy with the environmental movement.”
In context“Despite his official neutrality, the diplomat's private sympathies lay clearly with the rebel forces seeking democratic reform.”
Antonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
formal expressions of sadness sent to someone after a death.
formal expressions of regret or sorrow, typically offered to a bereaved person. Almost always used in the plural form in this context.
Simple“We sent a card to the family to offer our deepest sympathies.”
In context“The Prime Minister sent his deepest sympathies to the families of the soldiers lost in the recent conflict.”
UsageUsually appears as 'deepest sympathies' or 'sincere sympathies'.
Synonyms
sympathy vs empathy — Sympathy is feeling for someone; empathy is feeling with someone.
“The BBC understands the King has written to the families of two officers killed in the crash to express his deepest sympathies for their loss.”
“The new king thanked “the government and Norwegian people for their support and sympathy for the royal family at this time”.”
Borrowed from Middle French sympathie, from Late Latin sympathīa (“feeling in common”), from Ancient Greek σῠμπᾰ́θειᾰ (sŭmpắtheiă, “fellow feeling”), from σῠμπᾰθής (sŭmpăthḗs, “affected by like feelings; exerting mutual influence, interacting”) + -ῐᾰ (-ĭă, “-y”, nominal suffix). Equivalent to sym- (“acting or considered together”) + -pathy (“feeling”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.