sympathy
an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion
How often you will meet it
Rank 1,391 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 13,241 times across 155,139 chapters — 0.006% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion also: understanding his sympathies were always with the underdogI knew I could count on his understanding
- sharing the feelings of others (especially feelings of sorrow or anguish) also: fellow feeling
- a relation of affinity or harmony between people; whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other the two of them were in close sympathy
sympathy in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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They knew the power, the inexpressible sweetness, of sympathy.
Snowflakes and Sunbeams · R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne · Chapter 1
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An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style.
The Picture of Dorian Gray · Oscar Wilde · Chapter 1
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Solemnly he shook hands with Katherine and Bobby, expressing a profound sympathy.
The Abandoned Room · Wadsworth Camp · Chapter 1
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With Sim and his troubles, real and imaginary, he was not at all careful to exhibit sympathy.
The Shadow of a Crime: A Cumbrian Romance · Hall, Sir Caine · Chapter 1
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Humanity abhors the assailant of womanhood, and this charge upon the Negro at once placed him beyond the pale of human sympathy.
The Red Record Tabulated Statistics · Ida B. Wells-Barnett · Chapter 1