sympathetic
/ˌsɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/adjective, noun
sympathetic is spelled S-Y-M-P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “empathetic vs sympathetic” about 9,900 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, sympathetic means “Of, related to, feeling, showing, or characterized by sympathy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sympathetic?
| Letters | 11: S-Y-M-P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is sympathetic?
Sympathetic appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd 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 sympathetic?
- /ˌsɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/
Sympathetic has 4 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-sympathetic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with sympathetic
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of sympathetic
- more sympathetic comparative
- most sympathetic superlative
- sympathetical
- sympathetics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sympathetic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, related to, feeling, showing, or characterized by sympathy.
John looked very upset. I gave him a sympathetic look.
- 2
Showing approval of or favor towards an idea or action.
- 3
Attracting the liking of others. (of a person)
- 4
Designed in a sensitive or appropriate way.
- 5
Relating to, producing, or denoting an effect which arises through an affinity, interdependence, or mutual association.
Sympathetic magic is based on imitation or correspondence.
- 6
A supernatural connection or power resulting from two items having the same form or some other correspondence. (of magic)
- 7
Relating to musical tones produced by sympathetic vibration or to strings so tuned as to sound by sympathetic vibration.
- 8
Relating to or denoting the part of the autonomic nervous system consisting of nerves arising from ganglia near the middle part of the spinal cord, supplying the internal organs, blood vessels, and glands, and balancing the action of the parasympathetic nerves.
Sympathetic innervation involves epinephrine.
noun
- 1
A sympathetic nerve.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sympathetic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sympathique |
| German | mitfühlend |
| Portuguese | simpático |
| Spanish | simpatético, simpatizador , simpático |
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 sympathetic come from?
Mid 17th century in the sense “relating to an affinity or paranormal influence”, from Latin sympathēticus. By surface analysis, sympathy + -etic (“pertaining to”); compare pathetic. Displaced native Old English efnþrōwiende.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).