[sym.pa.thy] n, pl -thies [L sympathia, fr. Gk sympatheia, fr. sympathes having common feelings, sympathetic, fr. syn- + pathos feelings, emotion, experience--more at pathos] (1579) 1 a: an affinity, association, or relationship between persons or things wherein whatever affects one similarly affects the other b: mutual or parallel susceptibility or a condition brought about by it c: unity or harmony in action or effect
2. a: inclination to think or feel alike: emotional or intellectual accord b: feeling of loyalty: tendency to favor or support "republican sympathies" 3 a: the act or capacity of entering into or sharing the feelings or interests of another b: the feeling or mental state brought about by such sensitivity "have ~ for the poor"
4: the correlation existing between bodies capable of communicating their vibrational energy to one another through some medium syn see attraction, pity