sympathetic

1 of 2

adjective

sym·​pa·​thet·​ic ˌsim-pə-ˈthe-tik How to pronounce sympathetic (audio)
1
: existing or operating through an affinity, interdependence, or mutual association
2
a
: appropriate to one's mood, inclinations, or disposition
b
: marked by kindly or pleased appreciation
the biographer's approach was sympathetic
3
: given to, marked by, or arising from sympathy, compassion, friendliness, and sensitivity to others' emotions
a sympathetic gesture
4
: favorably inclined : approving
not sympathetic to the idea
5
a
: showing empathy
b
: arousing sympathy or compassion
a sympathetic role in the play
6
a
: of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system
b
: mediated by or acting on the sympathetic nerves
7
: relating to musical tones produced by sympathetic vibration or to strings so tuned as to sound by sympathetic vibration
sympathetically adverb

sympathetic

2 of 2

noun

: a sympathetic structure

Examples of sympathetic in a Sentence

Adjective He received much help from sympathetic friends. I didn't find the hero in the movie very sympathetic.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The first group, at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, was understandably sympathetic to the situation of a public health advocate hitting a brick wall of resistance. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 Jakub’s miscommunication with Lenka (overseen by Czech space commissioner Isabelle Rossellini and technician Kunal Nayyar, both more sympathetic than officious) puts Spaceman on a higher plane than most space-travel movies. Armond White, National Review, 8 Mar. 2024 Everything to Know About the Rust Shooting Case and Alec Baldwin's Upcoming Trial But legal expert Baker, a lawyer and former L.A. Deputy District Attorney, says a jury might not be so sympathetic to their case. Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 Free Fire is a black comedy punctuated entirely with bullets, and Murphy manages to become one of the vanishingly small number of sympathetic characters. Danny Horn, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2024 Waldman animates her novel by profiling a sympathetic group of characters who are relegated to the four-hour shift that begins at 4 a.m. Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Mar. 2024 The chapter and verse of his record is not sympathetic reading, though his mother, 67, tries to understand. Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 3 Mar. 2024 Which made the fakery both ridiculous and — for anyone who has ever tried to get three kids to stay still and smile at the same time — kind of sympathetic. Sharp. Karla Adam, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024 Trump’s personal insults of McConnell and McConnell’s wife aside — McConnell knows that Trump is sympathetic to Putin and hostile to Ukraine. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 7 Mar. 2024
Noun
His faith was increasingly at odds with national sentiment after King Charles I, an Anglican sympathetic to Roman Catholicism, gained the throne in 1625. Fox News, 3 Mar. 2023 Prelogar said states can file suits in numerous jurisdictions, searching for a judge sympathetic to their cause. Dallas News, 29 Nov. 2022 As Jason McBride notes in his sympathetic and carefully rendered new biography of Acker, Eat Your Mind, it’s easy to see Acker and her work as a relic of a lost world. Laura Tanenbaum, The New Republic, 13 Jan. 2023 Stringed instruments, with their capability for sweeping legato movement between pitches, are the instruments most akin to the human voice, and thus most relatable and sympathetic to our innermost vibrations. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2022 There are surely many people of all groups who are not especially interested in or sympathetic to scientists treating them as objects of study. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 July 2012 The most famous British royal sympathetic to the Nazis was King Edward III, who abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson. Town & Country, 18 Nov. 2022 No, Heather was not being particularly (or even slightly) sympathetic in that moment. Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Oct. 2022 Would the Democratic-aligned, or the Democratic-sympathetic, or the mainstream media, have told their voters, listeners, or readers that the election was stolen? Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sympathetic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

New Latin sympatheticus, from Latin sympathia sympathy

First Known Use

Adjective

1644, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1808, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sympathetic was in 1644

Dictionary Entries Near sympathetic

Cite this Entry

“Sympathetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sympathetic. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sympathetic

adjective
sym·​pa·​thet·​ic
ˌsim-pə-ˈthet-ik
1
: fitting one's mood or disposition
a sympathetic atmosphere for quiet study
2
a
: feeling favorable
sympathetic with their aims
b
: marked by kindly or pleased appreciation
a sympathetic study of modern music
3
: given to or arising from sympathy and sensitivity to others
a sympathetic personality
4
a
: of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system
b
: controlled by or acting on the sympathetic nerves
sympathetically
-i-k(ə-)lē
adverb

Medical Definition

sympathetic

1 of 2 adjective
sym·​pa·​thet·​ic ˌsim-pə-ˈthet-ik How to pronounce sympathetic (audio)
1
: of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system
2
: mediated by or acting on the sympathetic nerves
sympathetically adverb

sympathetic

2 of 2 noun
: a sympathetic structure

More from Merriam-Webster on sympathetic

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