sympathetic

/,simpə'θətik/

Friendly

Word: Sympathetic

Part of Speech: Adjective

Usage Instructions:

• Use "sympathetic" to describe a person who cares about others' feelings.
• It can also be used in a more technical sense in science, especially in discussions about vibrations or the nervous system.

Examples:

1. Basic Usage:
   • "When her friend was sad, she offered sympathetic words to comfort her."
2. Advanced Usage:
   • "The sympathetic characters in the novel helped to highlight the main themes of love and friendship."

Word Variants:

• Sympathy (noun): The feeling of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune.
  • Example: "She felt a deep sympathy for the victims of the disaster."
• Sympathize (verb): To share or understand someone else's feelings.
  • Example: "I sympathize with you during this difficult time."

Different Meanings:

1. Emotional Understanding: When someone feels compassion or concern for another person.
   • Example: "He was sympathetic to her struggles."
2. Scientific Context: Relating to the sympathetic nervous system, which controls involuntary actions.
   • Example: "The sympathetic response increases heart rate during stressful situations."

Synonyms:

• Compassionate
• Understanding
• Kind
• Caring
• Considerate

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

• "Have sympathy for someone": To feel compassion or pity for someone.
  • Example: "I have sympathy for the students who are struggling with exams."
• "Sympathetic ear": Someone who listens to your problems and shows understanding.
  • Example: "She always provides a sympathetic ear whenever I need to talk."

Summary:

"Sympathetic" is a word that describes a positive and caring attitude towards others. It can be used in everyday conversation to describe how someone feels or acts, as well as in more specific contexts, like science.

Academic

Adjective

1. relating to vibrations that occur as a result of vibrations in a nearby body
   • sympathetic vibration
2. having similar disposition and tastes
   • with their many similar tastes, he found her a most sympathetic companion
3. (of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings
   • the sympathetic characters in the play
4. showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
   • was charitable in his opinions of others
   • kindly criticism
   • a kindly act
   • sympathetic words
   • a large-hearted mentor
5. expressing or feeling or resulting from sympathy or compassion or friendly fellow feelings; disposed toward
   • sympathetic to the students' cause
   • a sympathetic observer
   • a sympathetic gesture
6. of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system
   • sympathetic neurons
   • sympathetic stimulation

Synonyms

• harmonic
• appealing
• likeable
• likable
• charitable
• benevolent
• kindly
• good-hearted
• openhearted
• large-hearted