sympathize with
Definition
Verb: - To feel or express compassion, sorrow, or pity for someone who is experiencing misfortune, pain, or grief; to share in the emotional burden of another's suffering.
Usage
This verb is used to describe the act of understanding and acknowledging another person's difficult feelings or situation, often with a sense of shared emotion. It implies a connection of feeling, though not necessarily experiencing the identical situation. - It is typically followed by the preposition "with" and the person or group who is suffering. - It describes an emotional and cognitive response.
Examples
Advanced Usage
- In Formal or Professional Contexts: Can be used to indicate official or institutional understanding and support for a cause or plight.
- The government's statement sympathized with the victims of the natural disaster.
- Expressing Conditional or Partial Sympathy: Often used to show understanding of a person's feelings while not necessarily agreeing with their actions.
- While I don't agree with his methods, I can sympathize with his frustration.
Variants and Related Words
- Sympathy (n): The feeling of compassion or sorrow for the hardships of another.
- She expressed her deepest sympathy.
- Sympathetic (adj): Describing a person who shows sympathy.
- He was very sympathetic when I was ill.
- Sympathizer (n): A person who sympathizes, often with a cause or group.
- He was known as a sympathizer of the movement.
Synonyms
- Commiserate with: To express sympathy or sorrow jointly; often implies sharing a similar misfortune.
- Feel for: To have compassion or empathy for someone.
- Pity: To feel sorrow for the misfortunes of others (can sometimes imply a sense of superiority, unlike "sympathize with").
Related Phrasal Verbs / Constructions
- Sympathize with is itself a standard verb + preposition combination. There are no common phrasal verb variants that change its core meaning.
Related Idioms
- To have sympathy for: A near-identical idiom meaning to feel compassion.
- I have a lot of sympathy for single parents.
- To be in sympathy with: Often used for agreeing with or supporting ideas or causes, extending beyond personal suffering.
- The union is in sympathy with the demands for safer working conditions.
Verb
-
share the suffering of
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