sympathize
verb /ˈsɪmpəθaɪz/
/ˈsɪmpəθaɪz/
(British English also sympathise)
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they sympathize | /ˈsɪmpəθaɪz/ /ˈsɪmpəθaɪz/ |
| he / she / it sympathizes | /ˈsɪmpəθaɪzɪz/ /ˈsɪmpəθaɪzɪz/ |
| past simple sympathized | /ˈsɪmpəθaɪzd/ /ˈsɪmpəθaɪzd/ |
| past participle sympathized | /ˈsɪmpəθaɪzd/ /ˈsɪmpəθaɪzd/ |
| -ing form sympathizing | /ˈsɪmpəθaɪzɪŋ/ /ˈsɪmpəθaɪzɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to feel sorry for somebody; to show that you understand and feel sorry about somebody’s problems
- sympathize (with somebody/something) I find it very hard to sympathize with him.
- + speech ‘That's too bad,’ she sympathized.
Extra Examples- We sympathized with the bereaved family.
- ‘I've got a terrible headache.’ ‘I can sympathize. I had one yesterday.’
- I can really sympathize with what she's going through.
- It is hard not to sympathize with her dilemma.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- completely
- deeply
- fully
- …
- can
- be easy to
- be hard to
- …
- with
- [intransitive] sympathize with somebody/something to support somebody/something
- He has never really sympathized with the aims of Animal Rights activists.
Extra ExamplesTopics Opinion and argumentc2- I completely sympathize with the workers' situation.
- I entirely sympathize with this view.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- completely
- deeply
- fully
- …
- can
- be easy to
- be hard to
- …
- with
Word Originlate 16th cent. (in the sense ‘suffer with another person’): from French sympathiser, from sympathie ‘sympathy, friendly understanding’ via Latin from Greek sumpatheia, from sumpathēs, from sun- ‘with’ + pathos ‘feeling’.