com ‧ pas ‧ sion ‧ ate /kəmˈpæʃ ə nət, kəmˈpæʃ ə nɪt/ BrE AmE adjective
feeling sympathy for people who are suffering:
a caring compassionate man
I allowed him to go home on compassionate grounds.
One measure of a civilized and compassionate society is how well it treats its prison population.
—compassionately adverb
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THESAURUS
▪ sympathetic kind to someone who is having problems:
My friends were very sympathetic when I lost my job.
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Jill was a very sympathetic listener.
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a sympathetic attitude
▪ compassionate wanting to help people who are suffering or having problems:
The doctor was a compassionate man who always acted in his patients’ best interests.
▪ understanding not getting angry with someone or criticizing them, because you can see that they have problems:
I have had a lot of time off work, but my boss is very understanding.
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an understanding look
▪ caring caring about other people’s feelings and wanting to help them:
I have very caring parents.
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Most of the nurses are very caring.