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sympathetic

sympathetic

23 3.9
Causing people to feel pity or support for a character
  • adjective
  • /ˌsɪmpəˈθɛtɪk/
  • Literature
translation icon : conmovedor
  • Hawk, Lex, and Trip step onto the porch, looking on in sympathetic embarrassment.
  • a sympathetic character
  • a sympathetic portrayal
  • wrote a sympathetic character

So this is, AI would say, a very sympathetic, although obviously critical, both sympathetic and critical portrait of the poor white.

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Examples

  • The film presented a sympathetic story about a struggling family, making it hard not to feel for their struggles.

  • Still, the film is less sympathetic to those hunting Rambo than it is to Rambo himself.

    Academic text (2014)
  • I wish court had gone better and that the judge was more sympathetic to our cause.

  • At least one very kind, sympathetic lady has found my my story relatively compelling.

  • The main character in Stranger Danger is more sympathetic than Deveroli.

  • The writing is shrewd and funny; the characters are sympathetic and believable.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Satire gives way to subtle irony and, most of all, to sympathetic humor.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I do, because a well-written, believable, and sympathetic antagonist spells the difference between a toss-away novel and a cinematic novel.

    Academic text (2011)
  • In the play, the main character was portrayed as a sympathetic figure who evoked deep compassion from the audience.

  • Many readers found the author's depiction of the troubled protagonist to be especially sympathetic and relatable.

Synonyms

appealing
vssympathetic
138 2.3

Makes people like it, for example a friendly smile or a new idea

elicits pity specifically rather than general attractiveness
likable
vssympathetic
  • US
72 1.0

Pleasant and friendly that makes other people feel warm toward you

elicits compassion or pity not just pleasant approval
kind-hearted
vssympathetic
9 2.5

A person who cares about others and often helps them

elicits pity or approval instead of showing the emotion itself
pitiable
vssympathetic
7 6.1

Making people feel sorry for someone or something

elicits pity or approval more broadly not only sadness
kindhearted
vssympathetic
5 2.5

A person who is kind and caring

elicits pity or approval instead of showing the emotion itself
piteous
vssympathetic
  • Literature
3 7.9

Making people feel sorry because someone is suffering

elicits pity or approval from an audience even without obvious suffering
tenderhearted
vssympathetic
1 3.1

Kind and quick to feel sorry for people who are sad

elicits pity or approval instead of feeling or showing compassion
likeable
vssympathetic
  • UK
1 1.0

Nice and friendly so people feel warm toward you

elicits compassion or pity not just pleasant approval
softhearted
vssympathetic
1 3.4

A person who feels sorry for others and helps them

elicits pity or approval rather than being easily moved

Antonyms

unsympathetic
  • Literature
3 6.6

Hard to like or feel sorry for, especially a character

Compounds

A person who listens and shows care when you have a problem

1 4.9

Part of the body that prepares you for action by raising heart rate and sending blood to muscles

sympathetic vibration
  • Specialized
1 7.4

Movement in one object caused by another object moving at the same rate

Workers stop work to support other workers who are not working

How Sympathetic

lovable
62 1.3
endearing
31 3.5
sympathetic
  • Literature
23 3.9
appealing
138 2.3

Surface Forms

sympathetic positive
sympatheticker comparative
sympathetickest superlative

Morphology

sympathetic = sympathy (transparent) = sympathy + etic

Describing a character as 'sympathetic' (eliciting pity or approval) is directly about evoking 'sympathy', so the derivation is straightforward.

Etymology

The word sympathetic comes from sym- 'together' and pathos 'feeling', the same idea as empathy, and a helpful way to remember it is that a 'sympathetic' character makes you 'feel with' them. That's why such characters often win our pity or approval.