sympathetic
adjective
Simple meaning
Expressing or feeling or resulting from sympathy or compassion or friendly fellow feelings.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sihmpuhthehtikSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
sɪmpəˈθɛtɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Expressing or feeling or resulting from sympathy or compassion or friendly fellow feelings; disposed toward
Of, related to, feeling, showing, or characterized by sympathy.
Showing approval of or favor towards an idea or action.
Attracting the liking of others. (of a person)
A supernatural connection or power resulting from two items having the same form or some other correspondence. (of magic)
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Expressing or feeling or resulting from sympathy or compassion or friendly fellow feelings; disposed toward
Used this way, sympathetic is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries warmth, so it reads as personal rather than detached.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Kind and considerate
- Usage feel
- Warm and expressive
Nearby words
- likeable , used mainly in Regional English
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use sympathetic
- “The sympathetic characters in the play.”adjective
- “Sympathetic neurons.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Supernatural
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Originates in the thoracic regions of the spinal cord.
A strike in support of other workers who are on strike.
Vibration produced by resonance.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Originates in the brain stem and lower part of the spinal cord.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Antonyms
Sense: expressing or feeling or resulting from sympathy or compassion
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