compassion
noun
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What is the difference between empathy and compassion?
Compassion and empathy both refer to a caring response to someone else’s distress. While empathy refers to an active sharing in the emotional experience of the other person, compassion adds to that emotional experience a desire to alleviate the person’s distress.
… the story of Nellie Bly, the first female investigative reporter, who not only demanded justice from powerful institutions, but also insisted on dignity and compassion for the most vulnerable citizens. — The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Aug. 2022
Blonde clearly wants us to feel for Norma Jeane, but it dwells on her pain so obsessively … that the movie's empathy feels like another form of exploitation. — Justin Chang, NPR, 23 Sept. 2022
The distinction between compassion and empathy is frequently a topic of exploration.
By empathy I mean feeling the feelings of other people. So if you’re in pain and I feel your pain—I am feeling empathy toward you. If you’re being anxious, I pick up your anxiety. If you’re sad and I pick up your sadness, I’m being empathetic. And that’s different from compassion. Compassion means I give your concern weight, I value it. I care about you, but I don’t necessarily pick up your feelings. … [I]f I feel compassion for you, I’ll be invigorated. I’ll be happy and I’ll try to make your life better. — Paul Bloom, quoted in Vox, 16 Jan. 2019
Compassion is a much older word; it’s been part of the language since the 14th century, and comes ultimately from Latin com- and pati, meaning “to bear, suffer.” Empathy is a 20th century coinage modeled on sympathy as a translation of the German Einfühlung (“feeling-in” or “feeling into”). It was first applied in contexts of philosophy, aesthetics, and psychology and continues to have technical use in those fields.
Examples of compassion in a Sentence
Paul A. Cantor, Gilligan Unbound, 2001
… he read every "doctor book" he could reach … , learning fine secrets and curing us with steams and fruit compotes and dexterous rubs and, above all, with bedside compassion.
—Gwendolyn Brooks, Booklist, 15 Oct. 1993
The novel addresses at every point in its structural edifice, and lingers over in every fissure, the slave's body and personality: the way it speaks, what passion legal or illicit it is prey to, what pain it can endure, what limits, if any, there are to its suffering, what possibilities there are for forgiveness, compassion, love.
—Toni Morrison, Playing In The Dark, 1992
I can't write songs about what's wrong with a country that seems to lack compassion for pain and suffering …
—Bonnie Raitt, quoted in Entertainment Weekly, 23 Aug. 1991
Like the best of the new detectives, V. I. and Kinsey, she is a woman of wit and gravity, compassion and toughness, a heroine worth spending time with.
—Susan Isaacs, New York Times Book Review, 3 Nov. 1991
He felt compassion for the lost child.
She shows compassion to the sick.
She had the compassion to offer help when it was needed most.
C. R. Walker, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025
Read the full Pisces Daily Horoscope Aries (March 21 - April 19)
Driven by compassion?
—USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025
Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers, died at age 39 in February 2003
Comments
Fred Rogers is stil remembered for his dedication to instilling kindness, compassion and self-esteem in kids 22 years after his death.
—Makena Gera, People.com, 27 Feb. 2025
True care involves deep active listening—giving full attention, acknowledging feelings and responding with compassion.
—Angela Cusack, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compassion
Cite this Entry
“Compassion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compassion. Accessed 8 Mar. 2025.
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compassion
noun
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