Sympathy vs. Empathy

Sympathynoun

A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another; compassion.

Sympathynoun

The ability to share the feelings of another.

Sympathynoun

A mutual relationship between people or things such that they are correspondingly affected by any condition.

Sympathynoun

Tendency towards or approval of the aims of a movement.

Sympathynoun

Feeling corresponding to that which another feels; the quality of being affected by the affection of another, with feelings correspondent in kind, if not in degree; fellow-feeling.

Sympathynoun

An agreement of affections or inclinations, or a conformity of natural temperament, which causes persons to be pleased, or in accord, with one another; as, there is perfect sympathy between them.

Sympathynoun

Kindness of feeling toward one who suffers; pity; commiseration; compassion.

Sympathynoun

The reciprocal influence exercised by organs or parts on one another, as shown in the effects of a diseased condition of one part on another part or organ, as in the vomiting produced by a tumor of the brain.

Sympathynoun

A tendency of inanimate things to unite, or to act on each other; as, the sympathy between the loadstone and iron.

Sympathynoun

Similarity of function, use office, or the like.

Sympathynoun

an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion;

Sympathynoun

sharing the feelings of others (especially feelings of sorrow or anguish)

Sympathynoun

a relation of affinity or harmony between people; whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other;

Sympathy

Sympathy is the perception, understanding, and reaction to the distress or need of another life form. According to David Hume, this sympathetic concern is driven by a switch in viewpoint from a personal perspective to the perspective of another group or individual who is in need.

Empathynoun

Identification with or understanding of the thoughts, feelings, or emotional state of another person.

Empathynoun

Capacity to understand another person's point of view or the result of such understanding.

Empathynoun

A paranormal ability to psychically read another person's emotions.

Empathynoun

understanding and entering into another's feelings

Empathy

Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of emotional states.