Compassionate Meaning
/kəmˈpæʃənət/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjHaving, feeling or showing compassion (to or toward someone).
adjGiven to someone as an exception because of a family emergency or a death in their family.
Sentence Examples
I think Tom is compassionate.
Tom is very compassionate.
The more you suffer in life, the more compassionate you become.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ judge gave the first-time offender a lighter sentence than usual.
Word Origin & History
A pseudo-Latin form of French compassionné, past participle of compassionner (“feel sorry for”). By surface analysis, compassion + -ate.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As a compassionate Turcoyse which doth tell
By looking pale, the wearer is not well,"
— 1611, John Donne, An Anatomy of the World, London: Samuel Macham:
"He was by nature so exceedingly compassionate of anyone who seemed to be ill at ease […] that he shook hands with Mr. Micawber, at least half-a-dozen times in five minutes."
— 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 49, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 502:
"[…] the compassionate pangs I felt for soon-to-be redundant workers were not overwhelming in their frequency; our job required a degree of commitment that left one with rather limited time for such distractions."
— 2007, Mohsin Hamid, chapter 7, in The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Orlando: Harcourt, page 99:
"[Hakeem] Jeffries hailed the Obamas as “brilliant, compassionate and patriotic Americans” and denounced Trump as “a vile, unhinged and malignant bottom feeder”."
— 2026 February 7, Richard Luscombe, Shrai Popat, Robert Mackey, “Trump refuses to apologize for video with racist imagery of Obamas posted on his social media”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2026:
"It boots thee not to be compassionate:
After our sentence plaining comes too late."
— 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene 3]:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ judge gave the first-time offender a lighter sentence than usual.