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sympathetically

sympathetically

1 6.0
By the part of the nervous system that raises heart rate and breathing
  • adverb
  • /ˌsɪmpəˈθɛtɪkli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : simpáticamente
  • The doctor spoke to the patient sympathetically, showing understanding for her situation.
  • nodded sympathetically

And my nervous system is sympathetically wired.

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Examples

  • These features make the system react sympathetically to adverse operating conditions facing ongoing investors.

    Academic text (1992)
  • And my nervous system is sympathetically wired.

  • And my nervous system is sympathetically wired.

  • In his words: "The argument advanced in The Soldier and the State in 1957 was that, given the existing international situation, 'the requisite for military security' was a shift from liberalism to a 'sympathetically conservative' attitude toward the needs of military professionalism."

    Academic text (1996)
  • The low magnitude of the sympathetically mediated cardiovascular responses induced by FNS-KE in both pares and quads suggests that little sympathetic activity is stimulated.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Pye's account of particular sensations—the sunbeams on Sadler's head, for instance—demonstrates how fancy sympathetically relays sense experience across distances.

    Academic text (2017)
  • She listened sympathetically as her friend shared his troubles, offering comfort and support.

  • The teacher addressed the class sympathetically, acknowledging the challenges they faced during exams.

Surface Forms

sympathetically positive

Morphology

sympathetically = sympathetic (transparent) = sympathy + etic + ally

The adverb 'sympathetically' is transparently derived from the adjective 'sympathetic' by adding the adverbial suffix '-ally'.

Etymology

The medical sense of sympathetically uses the same parts sym- 'together' and pathos 'feeling', but doctors used it for body reactions that happen 'with' each other. So something happening sympathetically in the body means parts or nerves respond together, for example when the heart beats faster.