The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person
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.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sympathy
/ˈsɪmpəθi/
A feeling of understanding or concern for someone else's sorrow or misfortune
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:
Empathy involves understanding what someone else is feeling because you have experienced it yourself.
Sympathy, on the other hand, means you feel pity or sorrow for someone else's misfortune, but you may not have gone through the same experience.
Empathy is about relating to and identifying with others on a personal level.
Sympathy tends to be more about expressing kindness and offering help to others.
Think of empathy as walking in someone else's shoes, while sympathy is hearing about their journey and offering support.