1
as in compassionate
having or showing the capacity for sharing the feelings of another
a sympathetic smile needed a sympathetic listener who would understand her marital woes
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2
as in benevolent
having or marked by sympathy and consideration for others
a sympathetic store manager who let us use the telephone sympathetic letters from supporters after the disappointing verdict
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Recent Examples of sympathetic
With its sympathetic portraits of Donald Trump and Roy Cohn, The Apprentice is, in the end, yet another bland Hollywood biopic.
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A. S. Hamrah, The New York Review of Books, 31 Oct. 2024
The effort picked up steam in recent months as the Netflix hit Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and a separate Netflix documentary, The Menendez Brothers, were viewed by largely sympathetic audiences.
—Christine Pelisek, People.com, 29 Oct. 2024
While her life is immediately filled with caring, sympathetic friends (all played, quite charmingly, by Peter Francis James and Kate MacCluggage), someone new enters with that email from the other coast.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2024
Progressive critics believed this was because Obama’s top appointees, like Larry Summers and Tim Geithner, were too sympathetic to finance and too beholden to the old economic establishment’s thinking.
—Andrew Prokop, Vox, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sympathetic 
A. S. Hamrah, The New York Review of Books, 31 Oct. 2024
The effort picked up steam in recent months as the Netflix hit Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and a separate Netflix documentary, The Menendez Brothers, were viewed by largely sympathetic audiences.
—Christine Pelisek, People.com, 29 Oct. 2024
While her life is immediately filled with caring, sympathetic friends (all played, quite charmingly, by Peter Francis James and Kate MacCluggage), someone new enters with that email from the other coast.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2024
Progressive critics believed this was because Obama’s top appointees, like Larry Summers and Tim Geithner, were too sympathetic to finance and too beholden to the old economic establishment’s thinking.
—Andrew Prokop, Vox, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sympathetic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sympathetic
Adjective
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Take compassionate, caring actions to support others.Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
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But the real knockout is Saldaña, a compassionate audience surrogate and urgent energy source.Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Many people believe that slavery in Latin America was a benevolent institution.Ana Lucia Araujo / Made by History, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
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In recent years, the naive belief held by most Americans, that the Fed is an apolitical body of benevolent technocrats who would never use their immense, ring-of-Sauron-like power for anything but the good of humanity, has evaporated.Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Be kind to yourself: The election is stressing us out.Carlie Kollath Wells, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024
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So try to do something kind for yourself in the process of grieving.Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Charlie Crane Using natural materials like beech, walnut, and organic cotton, this decade-old Parisian brand churns out thoughtful children’s pieces made to live harmoniously alongside stylish adult furnishings.Shoko Wanger, Architectural Digest, 5 Nov. 2024
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Many other TikTok users commented, praising the mom for her thoughtful interaction with Graves.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Adam Smith’s original vision of capitalism was humane, but it has since been contorted by visible hands to become inhumane.Roy Swan, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024
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Never has a war been fought in such a humane way. ...Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 7 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Sympathetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sympathetic. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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