A feeling of opposition or antagonism toward sympathy, or sympathy directed toward the opposing side of a conflict.
From counter- + sympathy. Sympathy comes from Greek sympatheia (syn- 'together' + pathos 'feeling'). This psychological term emerged in modern usage to describe contradictory emotional states.
Countersympathy explains why people cheer for the villain in movies—our natural empathy can flip directions, making us sympathize with the 'wrong' side and feel weird about it!
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