ˈsimpəˌthīz verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Usage: see -ize
Etymology: Middle French sympathiser, from sympathie sympathy (from Latin sympathia ) + -iser -ize
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to experience in common
2. obsolete : to answer to : correspond to : match
3. obsolete : to represent, express, conceive, or contrive with sympathetic imagination or art
intransitive verb
1. : to suffer or be affected (as through affinity, association, or interdependence) : react or respond in sympathy
a good eye often sympathizes with the diseased eye
2. : to be in keeping, accord, harmony, or agreement : be like : resemble in nature or disposition
3.
a. : to share in suffering or grief : experience compassion or pity : commiserate — often used with with
sympathize with a friend in trouble
b. : to express such sympathy — often used with with
4. : to be in sympathy intellectually : understand through fellow feeling : be favorably impressed
sympathize with one's insurgency
sympathize with a proposal