compassion

noun

com·​pas·​sion kəm-ˈpa-shən 

: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it

compassionless

kəm-ˈpa-shən-ləs 

adjective

Did you know?

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.

Synonyms

• commiseration
• feeling
• sympathy

Choose the Right Synonym for compassion

pity, compassion, commiseration, condolence, sympathy mean the act or capacity for sharing the painful feelings of another.

pity implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow for one in misery or distress.

felt pity for the captives

compassion implies pity coupled with an urgent desire to aid or to spare.

treats the homeless with great compassion

commiseration suggests pity expressed outwardly in exclamations, tears, or words of comfort.

murmurs of commiseration filled the loser's headquarters

condolence applies chiefly to formal expression of grief to one who has suffered loss.

expressed their condolences to the widow

sympathy often suggests a tender concern but can also imply a power to enter into another's emotional experience of any sort.

went to my best friend for sympathy

in sympathy with her desire to locate her natural parents

Examples of compassion in a Sentence

Take away all the qualities that make for a genuinely good father—wisdom, compassion, even temper, selflessness—and what you have left is Homer Simpson with his pure, mindless, dogged devotion to his family. —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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Some of the most poignant parts of this feature dwell on the program teaching compassion and kindness to these still-malleable minds watching in times of national crisis, with non-patronizing episodes on homelessness, poverty, war and the devastating aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. —Courtney Howard, Variety, 23 Dec. 2024

Aidan Monaghan—Focus Features Unfortunately, the being that answers this call is not one for compassion or benevolence. —Megan McCluskey, TIME, 23 Dec. 2024

Television viewers across the country witnessed Barnes’ professionalism and compassion when addressing the public following Monday’s shooting in Madison. —Richard Harrold, Baltimore Sun, 22 Dec. 2024

Laughter, compassion and magic can all be yours, so make family a top priority this year. —Kyle Thomas, People.com, 22 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French, from Late Latin compassion-, compassio, from compati to sympathize, from Latin com- + pati to bear, suffer — more at patient

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing compassion

• compassion fatigue

Kids Definition

compassion

noun

com·​pas·​sion kəm-ˈpash-ən 

: sorrow or pity caused by the suffering or misfortune of another along with a desire to ease it

compassionate

-ˈpash-(ə-)nət

adjective

compassionately adverb