[ 'ɛmpəθi ]
■ noun the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
Derivatives
empathetic adjective
empathetically adverb
empathic ɛm'paθɪk adjective
empathically adverb
Origin
early 20th cent.: from Gk empatheia (from em- 'in' + pathos 'feeling') translating Ger. Einfühlung .
Usage
People often confuse the words ~ and sympathy . Empathy means ‘the ability to understand and share the feelings of another’ (as in both authors have the skill to make you feel ~ with their heroines ), whereas sympathy means ‘feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune’ (as in they had great sympathy for the flood victims ).