compassion
/kəmˈpæʃ.ən/noun
compassion is spelled C-O-M-P-A-S-S-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 8.9 times per million words in written English, the 7,672nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, compassion means “Deep awareness of the suffering of others that people have to the point of them being motivated to relieve such states” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of compassion is compassions.
How many letters and syllables are in compassion?
| Letters | 10: C-O-M-P-A-S-S-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.9 times per million words; the 7,672nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is compassion?
Compassion appears 8.9 times per million words in written English, the 7,672nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce compassion?
- US /kəmˈpæʃ.ən/
Compassion has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-compassion.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with compassion?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as compassion from its last stressed vowel (/æʃən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of compassion
- compassions plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- compassioning participle, present
- compassioned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does compassion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Deep awareness of the suffering of others that people have to the point of them being motivated to relieve such states.
Oh! the unspeakable privilege to have Him for our Father, who is the Father of mercies and compassions, and those not barren, fruitless pityings, for He is withal the God of all consolations.
- 2
Deep awareness of the individual experiences of suffering of others or themselves that people have to the point of them being motivated to relieve such experiences, as reflected by the psychological term self-compassion.
True leadership lies in compassion, not in coercion.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo pity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Compassion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense deep awareness of the suffering of another:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does compassion come from?
From Middle English compassioun, compassion, from Old French compassion, from Ecclesiastical Latin compassio (“sympathy”), from Latin compati, past participle compassus (“to suffer together with”), from com- (“together”) + pati (“to suffer”); see passion. By surface analysis, com- + passion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).