empathy, sympathy

empathy, sympathy
Empathy, a more specific word than sympathy, refers to actual identification with the thoughts and feelings of someone else or to a sharing through vicarious experience with the attitudes and emotions of another: "Empathy is more meaningful in this time of sadness than is any letter or gift of flowers." "Through empathy the young reader felt that Maugham's novel Of Human Bondage was a mirror of his own life." Sympathy refers to a general feeling of harmony or agreement between persons, a fellow feeling of understanding: "The mechanic expressed his sympathy but said that his garage was closed for the night."

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  • empathy, sympathy —    Empathy denotes a deep emotional understanding of the feelings or problems of another. It is thus close in meaning to compassion. Sympathy is more general. It can denote a closeness of understanding, but it can equally suggest no more than an… …   Dictionary of troublesome word

  • empathy, sympathy —    Empathy denotes a deep emotional understanding of the feelings or problems of another. It is thus close in meaning to compassion. Sympathy is more general. It can denote a closeness of understanding, but it can equally suggest no more than an… …   Dictionary of troublesome word

  • empathy — *sympathy, pity, compassion, commiseration, ruth, condolence Analogous words: imagination, fancy, fantasy: appreciation, understanding, comprehension (see corresponding verbs at UNDERSTAND) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • sympathy — See empathy. See empathy, sympathy …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • empathy — See empathy, sympathy …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • Empathy — is the capacity to recognize or understand another s state of mind or emotion. It is often characterized as the ability to put oneself into another s shoes , or to in some way experience the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself.It… …   Wikipedia

  • sympathy — 1 *attraction, affinity Analogous words: reciprocality, correspondence (see corresponding adjectives at RECIPROCAL): *harmony, consonance, accord, concord Antonyms: antipathy 2 Sympathy, pity, compassion, commiseration, condolence, ruth, empathy… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Sympathy — is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. The word derives from the Greek συμπάθεια ( sympatheia ) [ [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi… …   Wikipedia

  • empathy — 1. This is originally a term used in psychology and aesthetics meaning ‘the power of identifying oneself mentally with (and so fully comprehending) a person or object of contemplation’. In general use it tends to replace sympathy or feeling for… …   Modern English usage

  • empathy —  , sympathy  Empathy denotes a close emotional understanding of the feelings or problems of another. It is thus close in meaning to compassion. Sympathy is more general. It can denote a closeness of understanding, but it can equally suggest no… …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

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