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- pronunciation:
- sIm
p
the
tihk
- features:
- Word Combinations (adjective), Word Parts
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| definition 1: |
feeling, showing, or resulting from sympathy or understanding.
She is a sympathetic person who always listens to her friends' problems with concern and understanding.His sympathetic words to the widow seemed to comfort her a little.She put her arm around her sobbing sister in a sympathetic gesture.The store owner was sympathetic toward the frightened little boy and spoke to him gently.- synonyms:
- kind, sympathizing, understanding
- antonyms:
- stony, unfeeling, unsympathetic
- similar words:
- commiserative, compassionate, gracious, kindhearted, kindly, pitying, responsive, simpatico, warm-hearted
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| definition 2: |
having the nature of, affected by, or pertaining to some special affinity or relationship.
As workers who had been on strike ourselves, our reaction to the miners' strike was sympathetic.- antonyms:
- unsympathetic
- similar words:
- understanding
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| definition 3: |
favorably disposed (often fol. by "to" "toward").
He was sympathetic to their idea, but he didn't have the money to help them.They had been sympathetic toward the rebels' cause in the beginning, but they became disillusioned when the movement turned violent.- synonyms:
- disposed, inclined
- antonyms:
- antagonistic, opposed, unsympathetic
- similar words:
- open, receptive, supportive
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| definition 4: |
in vertebrates, designating that part of the autonomic nervous system which is responsible for accelerating the heartbeat, decreasing digestive activity, and other actions. (Cf. parasympathetic.)
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| definition 5: |
in physics, denoting vibrations induced in a mass or body by similar vibrations in a separate mass or body.
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| related words: |
charitable, congenial, considerate, friendly, gracious, humane, merciful, partisan, soft, sorry, sparing, tender, tender-hearted |
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| derivation: |
sympathetically (adv.) |
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