verb

sympathize

SIM-puh-thyze/ˈsɪmpəθaɪz/

To share another's feelings with understanding.

I sympathize with my neighbor as she cares for her father.

A middle-aged woman sympathizes with a distressed young adult friend, sitting beside her and listening with a concerned expression while gently resting a hand on her forearm.

Etymology

symGreektogether

+pathGreekfeeling

+izeEnglishverb-forming suffix

The roots convey “feeling together”: being affected by what someone else feels. From having this fellow-feeling, the verb also came to mean expressing concern or offering condolences.

In context

Enhanced Public Domain11:07

I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me whose eyes would reply to mine you may deem me a romantic my dear sister but I bitterly feel the want of a friend

1800s Fiction Audiobook: Mary Shelley - Frankenstein

More examples

Having lost a pet herself, Maya sympathizes with the grieving family.
We sympathized with his disappointment when the trip was canceled.
I sympathize with their goals, but I question their methods.

Forms

sympathize · sympathizes · sympathized · sympathizing

sympathy noun — Understanding and concern for another's feelings.

sympathetic adjective — Showing understanding or compassion for others.

Similar words

empathize: Emphasizes imagining or sharing another person’s experience from that person’s perspective.
commiserate: Focuses on sharing sorrow over a disappointment or misfortune.