Sympathetically
What it means
With understanding and concern for another's situation.
Reach for it when describing a response that shows understanding and concern for someone's difficulty
She listened sympathetically before offering help.
Words to choose between 5
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm |
|
| professional |
-
everyday
understandingly
Fits when grasping the person's perspective is the main quality
Careful Understanding does not guarantee the active concern conveyed by sympathy.
-
warm
compassionately
Fits when concern includes a desire to relieve suffering
Careful Compassionately can imply deeper distress than an ordinary disappointment warrants.
-
warm
Fits when gentle treatment matters more than shared feeling
Careful A kindly response can remain polite without understanding the situation.
-
professional
empathetically
Fits when recognizing the person's feelings from their perspective is specific
Careful Empathy should not claim identical experience or complete understanding.
-
professional
supportively
Fits when the response offers encouragement or practical backing
Careful Support can be useful without expressing sympathetic feeling.
Opposites 3
- coldly
- dismissively
- unsympathetically
Common phrases 3
-
listen sympathetically
The adviser listened sympathetically before discussing the available choices.
-
respond sympathetically
Her manager responded sympathetically to the request for leave.
-
portrayed sympathetically
The documentary portrayed the displaced families sympathetically.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Flame, not lame, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Updated