Sympathy is the feeling of care and understanding you have when someone else is sad or suffering. You may not feel exactly what they feel, but you feel sorry for them and want to help.
From Late Latin 'sympathia', from Greek 'sympatheia' meaning 'fellow feeling', from 'syn-' (together) and 'pathos' (feeling, suffering). It originally described shared emotions between people or even between people and the universe.
Try Another Word