Sympathise Meaning
/ˈsɪmpəˌθaɪz/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbNon-Oxford British English standard spelling of sympathize.
Sentence Examples
I can sympathise with your situation as I have been there before.
To sympathise means to feel or express pity or sorrow for someone.
I can sympathise with your situation, but I cannot help.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
I really ____ with you after you lost your job last month.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I can really ____ with your difficult situation because I had a similar experience last year.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French sympathiser. By surface analysis, sympathy + -ise.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"‘[…] who is to hunt up my witnesses? All of them are sailors, drafted off to other ships, except those whose evidence would go for very little, as they took part, or sympathised in the affair. […]’"
— 1855, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 31, in North and South:
"And yet, though the happiness may be unenduring, what heart, though seared by time and worldly care, can fail to sympathise with those emotions of early life? In after years there are none such. They are the high noon of earthly joy. After them, life goes on decayingly and solemnly to its shadowy sunset."
— [1877], [Daniel Shepherd], “Elective Affinities”, in Saratoga. An Indian Tale of Frontier Life. A True Story of 1787., Philadelphia, Pa.: T[heophilus] B[easley] Peterson and Brothers; […], →OCLC, page 314:
"Dahl insisted there was no racist intent behind the Oompa Loompas but also said he found himself sympathising with the NAACP."
— 2017 September 13, Haroon Siddique, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory hero 'was originally black'”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
"Brown heavily sympathises with the challenges now being faced by his successor Andy Byford and Mayor Sadiq Khan, to secure a more sustainable funding formula for TfL that is less reliant on farebox income."
— 2020 November 18, Mike Brown tells Paul Stephen, “I wasn't going to let the Mayor down”, in Rail, page 44:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
I really ____ with you after you lost your job last month.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I can really ____ with your difficult situation because I had a similar experience last year.