# sympathy

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsɪm.pəθ.i/ · frequency rank #7,067

## Definitions
1. A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another.
2. A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another.
3. A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another.
4. Inclination to think or feel alike; emotional or intellectual accord; common feeling.
5. Inclination to think or feel alike; emotional or intellectual accord; common feeling.
6. Inclination to think or feel alike; emotional or intellectual accord; common feeling.
7. An affinity, association or mutual relationship between people or things such that they are correspondingly affected by any condition.
8. An affinity, association or mutual relationship between people or things such that they are correspondingly affected by any condition.
9. An affinity, association or mutual relationship between people or things such that they are correspondingly affected by any condition.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French sympathie, from Late Latin sympathīa (“feeling in common”), from Ancient Greek σῠμπᾰ́θειᾰ (sŭmpắtheiă, “fellow feeling”), from σῠμπᾰθής (sŭmpăthḗs, “affected by like feelings; exerting mutual influence, interacting”) + -ῐᾰ (-ĭă, “-y”, nominal suffix). Equivalent to sym- (“acting or considered together”) + -pathy (“feeling”).

## Common misspellings (14)
`smypathy`, `ssympathy`, `symapthy`, `symmpathy`, `sympahty`, `sympathhy`, `sympathyy`, `sympatthy`, `sympatyh`, `symppathy`, `symptahy`, `sypmathy`, `syympathy`, `ysmpathy`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sympathy