Master confusing words with ease
Empathy vs. Sympathy
Empathy
/ˈempəθi/Examples:
She felt a deep empathy for abandoned animals.Jack's empathy allowed him to comfort his grieving friend.Through empathy, we can understand diverse perspectives.
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Antonyms:
Sympathy
/ˈsɪmpəθi/Examples:
However intense their sympathies, the war was still a European war.Her sudden kindness and sympathy was too much for me.'I will offer my sympathy.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Sympathy involves sharing feelings of sorrow or compassion for someone's misfortune.
- Empathy goes a step further by putting yourself in another's shoes and understanding their feelings from their perspective.
- To feel sympathy, you may say Im sorry for your loss'; to feel empathy, you might imagine how it feels to lose someone.
- Sympathy is more about acknowledging someone else's feelings, whereas empathy seeks to understand the situation by experiencing it.
- If you've never experienced what the person is going through but still feel compassion, you are likely feeling sympathy.
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