simpatico

adjective

sim·​pa·​ti·​co sim-ˈpä-ti-ˌkō 

-ˈpa-

1

: agreeable, likable

The Bachelor Duke was a highly simpatico figure, kind, humane, civilized—qualities that it is often difficult to recapture in a historical biography.

—John Martin Robinson

2

: having shared qualities, interests, etc. : like-minded, sympathetic

These two artists are simpatico. Carlson, like Sorolla, works out-of-doors, directly from his subject …

—Kay Mayer

Andrea Sand's group of older mothers are simpatico because of their common age and experience.

—Barbara Hey

With the patronage of a simpatico Reagan, Casey took in hand a diminished CIA and molded it into a high-tech agency …

—William L. Chaze et al.

Did you know?

Simpatico, which derives from the Greek noun sympatheia, meaning "sympathy," was borrowed into English from both Italian and Spanish. In those languages, the word has been chiefly used to describe people who are well-liked or easy to get along with; early uses of the word in English reflected this, as in Henry James's 1881 novel The Portrait of a Lady, in which a character says of another's dying cousin, "Ah, he was so simpatico. I’m awfully sorry for you." In recent years, however, the word's meaning has shifted. Now we see it used to describe the relationship between people who get along well or work well together.

Examples of simpatico in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Malin nearby offers a simpatico complement to Soho House. —Jessica Ritz, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2024

For this reason, IACT’s mission and Bridging Austin’s mission are simpatico. —Jimi Calhoun, Austin American-Statesman, 16 Apr. 2024

Still, the two managed to stay simpatico while living in the same house. —Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 11 Oct. 2024

And Butterworth, along with his uncannily simpatico director Sam Mendes, does expert work on the evisceration front, doling out tidbits of decades-old family resentments until just the right moments for the cutting open. —Greg Evans, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2024

The chemistry between Goldstein and Poots would still be engagingly natural (simpatico and renewable in a way more befitting old friends than new lovers), just as the scenes between them would still hum with the low-wattage electricity of a couple that doesn’t have to try that hard. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2024

Much of the partnership appeared to simply amplify what were already simpatico views between the Kremlin and the company’s influencers. —Hadas Gold, CNN, 7 Sep. 2024

The graduating class finds their simpatico homeroom teacher replaced by a humorless, by-the-book type, and the Music Research Club is deemed a fire hazard and shut down, the electronic equipment locked away in a storeroom. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2024

Thinking the occult expert cum horror star and the high priest would be simpatico, Davis hosted a dinner party that went off the rails. —Alex Bhattacharji, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Italian simpatico & Spanish simpático, ultimately from Latin sympathia sympathy

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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