sympathise

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sympathise" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sympathise” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,405. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,405
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of sympathize.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sympathise · sympathise · English

sympathise · rank #41,405 · 15 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,405
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH symbiosis

Nearest frequency peer: symbiosis (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sympathise”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sympathise” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sympathise vs sympathize
90% similar
sympathise vs sympathizer
82% similar
sympathise vs sympathies
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sympathise
PropertyValue
Headwordsympathise
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Frequency rank#41,405
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sympathise”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sympathiselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “symbiosis” (#41,404), “synchronize” (#41,406), “taffy” (#41,407). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sympathise” is #41,405. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around sympathise, averb. Corpus frequency is #41,405 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of sympathize.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for sympathise, with forms such as "smypathise", "ssympathise", and "symapthise". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "sympathize", "sympathizer", "sympathies", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French sympathiser. By surface analysis, sympathy + -ise. The correct English form is sympathise, spelled S-Y-M-P-A-T-H-I-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of sympathize.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sympathise appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. ‘[…] 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. […]’
  2. 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.

Etymology

Borrowed from French sympathiser. By surface analysis, sympathy + -ise.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • smypathise
  • ssympathise
  • symapthise
  • symmpathise
  • sympahtise
  • sympathhise
  • sympathisse
  • sympathsie
  • sympatihse
  • sympatthise
  • symppathise
  • symptahise
  • sypmathise
  • syympathise
  • ysmpathise

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sympathise - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

smypathise2ssympathise1symapthise2symmpathise1sympahtise2sympathhise1sympathisse1sympathsie2
Edit distance from "sympathise"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sympathise"?
"sympathise" is spelled S-Y-M-P-A-T-H-I-S-E.
What does "sympathise" mean?
As a verb, "sympathise" means: Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of sympathize.
What words are commonly confused with "sympathise"?
"sympathise" is commonly confused with "sympathize", "sympathizer", "sympathies". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "sympathise"?
Borrowed from French sympathiser. By surface analysis, sympathy + -ise. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sympathise", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

subsidence#41,397smothering#41,381Shoreditch#41,379sandalwood#41,365

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

unsurpassed15 variantsRosenstein15 variantsreposition15 variantsWindermere15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list