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Glite Dictionary
to feel your pain

to feel your pain

20 6.8
To understand when someone is having a hard time and show you care
  • idiom
translation icon : empatizar con
  • When I heard about your loss, I immediately felt your pain and wanted to support you.

I know this day will come soon, so I feel your pain.

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Examples

  • For those of you who have battled the phone lines as I have, I feel your pain.

    Blog text (13)

  • I feel your pain as well, because...

    Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

  • I start, I can truly feel your pain and I just feel what you feel, OK?

    Andrew Huberman

  • But because I care and I feel your pain really quickly, let me help you out of it.

    NancyPi

  • My ability to feel your pain does not really require me to do much about it.

  • All you want to do is feel your pain, feel your loss.

    Orphan Horse (2018)

  • I want to feel your pain.

    Ghost in the Machine (1993)

  • I hear you, I feel your pain, and I admire you.

    Blog text (32)

  • Our heart has always been with the users of Webshots, so we feel your pain.

    Blog text (24)

  • There are many people in Mississippi and Alabama in the wake of Katrina who feel your pain.

    Blog text (19)

Synonyms

to sympathize
vsto feel your pain
96 3.5

To feel or show care and understanding for someone who is unhappy

focuses specifically on recognizing and understanding suffering or hardship
to feel for
vsto feel your pain
83 3.0

Have sympathy for someone who is suffering

focuses on recognizing and understanding suffering rather than simply experiencing compassion
to empathize
vsto feel your pain
  • US
48 4.9

To understand and share another person's feelings by imagining what they feel

focuses specifically on recognizing and understanding suffering or hardship
to sympathize with
vsto feel your pain
44 3.4

To feel sorry for someone and understand their pain

stresses recognizing and understanding suffering rather than mainly expressing sorrow
to commiserate
vsto feel your pain
15 7.0

To feel or show sympathy for someone who is suffering

focuses on recognizing and understanding suffering rather than mainly expressing sympathy
to feel someone's pain
vsto feel your pain
1 5.5

To understand and share someone's sadness when they are having a hard time

is milder, focusing on recognizing suffering rather than strong emotion
to walk a mile in someone's shoes
vsto feel your pain
  • Informal
4.9

Imagine being the other person to understand their feelings and situation

emphasizes recognizing and understanding suffering directly rather than imagined perspective

Antonyms

to disregard
119 3.9

Ignore something or someone on purpose

indifference
71 4.6

Lack of interest or concern about something

How Empathetic

to feel your pain
20 6.8
to feel for
83 3.0

Surface Forms

feel your pain infinitive
feeling your pain present participle
feels your pain third person singular
felt your pain past
felt your pain past participle

Morphology

feel + your + pain

The meaning 'to empathize' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'feel' (to experience) with 'your pain' (the other person's suffering): literally, 'I experience your suffering.' This compositional pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the intended sense.

Etymology

The expression feel your pain comes from the simple image of someone placing a hand on another person and actually feeling their pain as if it were their own. That's why it means 'to understand and share someone's suffering'.