Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for

empathy

[em-puh-thee]

noun

  1. the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the emotions, thoughts, or attitudes of another.

    She put an arm around her friend’s shoulders and stood by her in silent empathy.

  2. the imaginative ascribing to an object, as a natural object or work of art, feelings or attitudes present in oneself.

    By means of empathy, a great painting becomes a mirror of the self.



empathy

/ ˈɛəθɪ /

noun

  1. the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person's feelings See also identification

  2. the attribution to an object, such as a work of art, of one's own emotional or intellectual feelings about it

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

empathy

  1. Identifying oneself completely with an object or person, sometimes even to the point of responding physically, as when, watching a baseball player swing at a pitch, one feels one's own muscles flex.

Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • ˈ𳾱貹ٳ󾱲 noun
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of empathy1

First recorded in 1900–05; from Greek 𳾱áٳ𾱲 “affection,” equivalent to em- “in, within” ( em- 2 ) + path- (base of á𾱲 “to suffer”) + -eia noun suffix ( -ia ); its present meaning translates German ԴüܲԲ
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of empathy1

C20: from Greek empatheia affection, passion, intended as a rendering of German ԴüܲԲ, literally: a feeling in; see en- ², -pathy
Discover More

Synonym Study

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In a Thursday interview with the New York Times’ “The Daily” podcast, Newsom expressed “deep empathy” for immigrants who had been living in California for decades and were contributing to society.

From

After the Christchurch tragedies, twin shootings that took 51 lives, she showed the most heartfelt empathy, then knuckled down and got assault weapons off the streets.

From

The irony is, animation is a medium of empathy.

From

“These are sensitive, complicated issues that I truly don’t have the answers or solutions to, but I believe it starts with empathy and respect,” Biles wrote.

From

If they have a face turn towards the good, they get rewritten as people who have empathy — not narcissists at all, just people with high but non-disordered levels of self-centeredness.

From

Advertisement

Discover More

When To Use

doesempathy mean?

Empathy is the ability or practice of imagining or trying to deeply understand what someone else is feeling or what it’s like to be in their situation.Empathy is often described as the ability to feel what others are feeling as if you are feeling it yourself. To feel empathy for someone is to empathize. People who do this are described as empathetic.Some people use the word empathy interchangeably or in overlapping ways with the word sympathy, which generally means the sharing of emotions with someone else, especially sadness. However, others distinguish the two terms by emphasizing the importance of having empathy for others (feeling their pain) as opposed to having sympathy for them (feeling sorry for them).Example: Having faced many of the same challenges, Nyala has empathy for immigrants and what it feels like to go through those challenges.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


empathizeEmpedocles