Sympathetic
[sɪmpə'θetɪk] or [,sɪmpə'θɛtɪk]
Definition
(adj.) having similar disposition and tastes; 'with their many similar tastes, he found her a most sympathetic companion' .
(adj.) expressing or feeling or resulting from sympathy or compassion or friendly fellow feelings; disposed toward; 'sympathetic to the students' cause'; 'a sympathetic observer'; 'a sympathetic gesture' .
(adj.) (of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings; 'the sympathetic characters in the play' .
(adj.) of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system; 'sympathetic neurons'; 'sympathetic stimulation' .
Edited by Bryan--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Inclined to sympathy; sympathizing.
(a.) Produced by, or expressive of, sympathy.
(a.) Produced by sympathy; -- applied particularly to symptoms or affections. See Sympathy.
(a.) Of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system or some of its branches; produced by stimulation on the sympathetic nervious system or some part of it; as, the sympathetic saliva, a modified form of saliva, produced from some of the salivary glands by stimulation of a sympathetic nerve fiber.
Typed by Evangeline
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Compassionate, sympathizing, commiserating, pitiful, tender, kind, affectionate, loving, with the heart in the right place.
Inputed by Jane
Examples
- Seashells when held to the ear seem to contain the roar of the sea; this is because the air within the shell is set into sympathetic vibrations by some external tone. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The Commissioners had a good deal of sympathy for the prostitute's condition, but for that lust in the hearts of men, and women we may add, for that, they had no sympathetic understanding. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- A nation must, so to speak, live close to its own life, be intimate and sympathetic with natural events. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The charm which the spontaneity of little children has for sympathetic observers is due to perception of this intellectual originality. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- All her eagerness for acquirement lay within that full current of sympathetic motive in which her ideas and impulses were habitually swept along. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- I am glad that I have loved, and have experienced sympathetic joy and sorrow with my fellow-creatures. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Herbert threw in, with his eyes on the fire; which I thought kind and sympathetic of him. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Bodies which respond in this way are said to be sympathetic and the response produced is called _resonance_. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- I formerly spoke to very many naturalists on the subject of evolution, and never once met with any sympathetic agreement. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Though warm-hearted and sympathetic, she was not nervous; powerful emotions could rouse and sway without exhausting her spirit. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Thenlooking up, have I seen in the sky a head amidst circling stars, of which the midmost and the brightest lent a ray sympathetic and attent. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- N-no,' replied Georgiana, faintly, under the sympathetic coincidence. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- When a human being talks or sings, the air within the mouth cavity is thrown into sympathetic vibration and strengthens the otherwise feeble tone of the speaker. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Maternity must forth to the streets, to the herb-makers and bakers'-queues; meets there with hunger-stricken Maternity, sympathetic, exasperative. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- With respect to sympathetic curiosity, unbiased responsiveness, and openness of mind, we may say that the adult should be growing in childlikeness. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- By an effort of the sympathetic imagination you can revive within yourself something of my inward sense. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Mrs. Archer sounded a sympathetic assent. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- There is, of course, the other woman, the drink, the push, the blow, the bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- This,' said Mrs Wilfer, presenting a cheek to be kissed, as sympathetic and responsive as the back of the bowl of a spoon, 'is quite an honour! Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Joe and Biddy were very sympathetic and pleasant when I spoke of our approaching separation; but they only referred to it when I did. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- The two officers, looking at the prostrate Bacchanalian, and askance at each other, exchanged the most frightful sympathetic grins. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- They were, unconsciously, his idol, his God made manifeSt. In them he worshipped the highest, the great, sympathetic, mindless Godhead of humanity. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- All the three children enjoyed this to a delightful extent, and the sympathetic Sloppy again laughed long and loud. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- In this mood of self-approval she had a sympathetic eye for others, and she was struck by her friend's air of dejection. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- I heard his sympathetic voice travelling away from me by degrees--but, large as he was, I never heard him. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I was sorry to cause you the sympathetic pain which I know that you felt. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- There were no means of carrying its results even to sympathetic men abroad except by tedious letter-writing. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Finally, those sentiments dictate the lines--grateful, sympathetic, paternal lines--which appear in this place. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- So it could be sympathetic to agitations. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Not an officer or a man was there of those brave and sympathetic Frenchmen who did not quickly beg leave to be one of the expedition. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Inputed by Jane