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Glite Dictionary
to see things from someone's perspective

to see things from someone's perspective

1 3.7
To understand how someone thinks and feels about a situation
  • idiom
translation icon : ver las cosas desde la perspectiva de alguien
  • However, the judge didn't see things from his perspective and informed him with equal candor, "No."

Examples

  • Well, if you saw things from my perspective, you would see the humor of this whole situation.

    Slashers (2001)

  • When I get angry at another person for the stuff he/she did, I try for a moment to put myself in their shoes and see things from their perspective.

    Blog text (33)

  • You need to make this connection and see things from their perspective.

    Academic text (2012)

  • I'm helping you see things from his perspective.

    Him (2024)

  • Oh, sure, the idea that women should try to see things from a man's perspective is so unusual.

    Blog text (10)

  • "It does mean it would help women to try and see things from men's perspective as much as it would help men to try and see things from a woman's."

    Blog text (10)

  • They can see things from others' perspectives, notice distinctions among others, cooperate within a group, and socialize readily.

    Academic text (2001)

  • It does mean it would help women to try and see things from men's perspectives as much as it would help men to try and see things from a woman's perspective.

    Blog text (10)

  • It does mean it would help women to try and see things from men's perspectives as much as it would help men to try and see things from a woman's perspective.

    Blog text (10)

  • You need to make this connection and see things from their perspective to understand their feelings.

Synonyms

to view
vsto see things from someone's perspective
443 1.8

To think about someone or something in a particular way

is about imagining another's situation to grasp feelings rather than mere regard
to put oneself in someone's shoes
vsto see things from someone's perspective
5 3.7

Imagine being in another person's situation to understand their feelings

is the same idea but stated in more general words
to be in someone's shoes
vsto see things from someone's perspective
  • Informal
2 4.2

To imagine being in another person's situation to understand how they feel

is the general understanding act rather than only the attempt to feel
to step into someone's shoes
vsto see things from someone's perspective
  • Informal
4.9

To imagine how someone else feels and sees things

is the general act of understanding without stressing an active method
to stand in someone's shoes
vsto see things from someone's perspective
3.9

Imagine yourself in another person's situation to understand how they feel

is the same approach but does not always stress that clear purpose

How Empathetic

to empathize
  • US
48 4.9
to identify
235 3.4
to see things from someone's perspective
1 3.7
to consider
∞ 1.8
to dismiss
332 3.0

Surface Forms

see things from someone's perspective infinitive
seeing things from someone's perspective present participle
sees things from someone's perspective third person singular
saw things from someone's perspective past
seen things from someone's perspective past participle

Morphology

see + thing + from + someone's + perspective

The meaning 'to understand or consider a situation from another person's point of view' is directly and compositionally derivable from the constituents: 'see' (understand), 'things' (matters), and 'from someone's perspective' (from their viewpoint). This construction is a common, cross-linguistic way to express taking another's viewpoint, so a B1 learner who knows the component words will readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The phrase see things from someone's perspective comes from the simple image of imagining you stand where another person stands and look at the same scene. That's why it means 'to understand or consider a situation from another person's point of view'.