Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to commiserate

to commiserate

15 7.0
To feel or show sympathy for someone who is suffering
  • verb
  • /kəˈmɪzəˌreɪt/
translation icon : compadecerse de
  • "All he'd wanted was for her to commiserate with him, to say: don't worry about it, I'm unpopular, too.

What does it say about us that we enjoy commiserating about it?

Examples

  • Her sister was, if I saw it right, the only person who could commiserate with her on these points.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Everywhere we go, whatever we're going through, we can close the door and sit down as a group and either laugh about it or commiserate or celebrate.

    Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams (2018)

  • Have you come to commiserate, Uncle?

    Red Sparrow (2018)

  • Having friends meant you had someone or many with whom one could commiserate about your playing ability.

    Academic text (2003)

  • I came all the way out here to commiserate with you.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • You asked me here to commiserate?

    Extraction 2 (2023)

  • I am just commiserating on the situation.

  • Children wander through the complex; parents commiserate, compare notes, and bond.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The men crowded around Constantine, talking all at once, explaining things, commiserating, laughing, patting him on the shoulders.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Many people came to commiserate with her after she lost her job.

Synonyms

to feel bad for
vsto commiserate
108 2.8

Be sorry for someone who is unhappy or for something you did wrong

involves sympathy or compassion without implying guilt or remorse
to pity
vsto commiserate
104 1.0

To feel sorry for someone who is suffering

is more about sharing feeling rather than only outward acts of sympathy
to sympathize
vsto commiserate
96 3.5

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

emphasizes feeling or offering compassion rather than deep shared understanding
to feel for
vsto commiserate
83 3.0

Have sympathy for someone who is suffering

also covers expressing that compassion outwardly, not just inward feeling
to empathize
vsto commiserate
  • US
48 4.9

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

focuses on feeling or expressing compassion rather than deep shared experience
to sympathize with
vsto commiserate
44 3.4

To feel sorry for someone and understand their pain

focuses more on feeling or expressing compassion than only understanding feelings
to feel your pain
vsto commiserate
20 6.8

To understand when someone is having a hard time and show you care

relies on recognizing another's hardship more than on showing compassion
to feel someone's pain
vsto commiserate
1 5.5

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

expresses sympathy or compassion without necessarily sharing the suffering deeply
to condole
vsto commiserate
  • Formal
1 7.2

Express sympathy to someone who is sad after a death

applies to sympathy for suffering in general rather than mainly to death
to condole with
vsto commiserate
  • Formal
6.8

To express sympathy to someone for a death or loss

covers compassionate feelings for any suffering, not only loss or misfortune

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

How Sympathetic

to console
40 3.9
to commiserate
15 7.0
to sympathize
96 3.5
to pity
104 1.0

Surface Forms

commiserate infinitive
commiserated past
commiserated past participle
commiserating present participle
commiserates third person singular

Morphology

commiserate = miser (semi-transparent) = com + miser + ate

The prefix 'com-' suggests a sense of togetherness, but the connection to 'miser' is not immediately clear to all learners.

Etymology

Commiserate comes from Latin parts com- 'with' and miserari 'to pity', and is related to the English word miserable. So to commiserate is to be 'with' someone who is suffering and to share your sympathy.