sympathetic.
Of, related to, feeling, showing, or characterized by sympathy.
Meaning & usage
Of, related to, feeling, showing, or characterized by sympathy.
John looked very upset. I gave him a sympathetic look.
Of, related to, feeling, showing, or characterized by sympathy. Showing approval of or favor towards an idea or action.
Attracting the liking of others. (of a person)
Attracting the liking of others. (of a person) Designed in a sensitive or appropriate way.
Relating to, producing, or denoting an effect which arises through an affinity, interdependence, or mutual association.
Sympathetic magic is based on imitation or correspondence.
sympathetic ink
Relating to, producing, or denoting an effect which arises through an affinity, interdependence, or mutual association. A supernatural connection or power resulting from two items having the same form or some other correspondence. (of magic)
Relating to, producing, or denoting an effect which arises through an affinity, interdependence, or mutual association. Relating to musical tones produced by sympathetic vibration or to strings so tuned as to sound by sympathetic vibration.
Relating to or denoting the part of the autonomic nervous system consisting of nerves arising from ganglia near the middle part of the spinal cord, supplying the internal organs, blood vessels, and glands, and balancing the action of the parasympathetic nerves.
Sympathetic innervation involves epinephrine.
Where this word comes from
Mid 17th century in the sense “relating to an affinity or paranormal influence”, from Latin sympathēticus. By surface analysis, sympathy + -etic (“pertaining to”); compare pathetic. Displaced native Old English efnþrōwiende.
A sympathetic nerve.
Where this word comes from
Mid 17th century in the sense “relating to an affinity or paranormal influence”, from Latin sympathēticus. By surface analysis, sympathy + -etic (“pertaining to”); compare pathetic. Displaced native Old English efnþrōwiende.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.