sympathize with


Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal.
Related to sympathize with: sympathise

sympathize with (someone or something)

1. To feel or express compassion for what someone is experiencing or feeling. We're so sorry for your loss, Mike. I just wanted to let you know that we all sympathize with you. I really sympathize with her plight—it's just such an awful situation, with no clear solution.
2. To share or understand the thoughts, ideas, ambitions, etc., of someone or something else. We certainly sympathize with your intentions, Ms. Connors, but there are certain issues that make this much more difficult to implement than you're suggesting. Thankfully the board of directors sympathized with our team and what we were trying to accomplish.
See also: sympathize

sympathize with someone (about someone or something)

to share someone else's sorrow or anger about someone or something; to comfort someone who is sad or angry (about someone or something). I sympathize with you about what you are going through. I really sympathize with you.
See also: sympathize
References in periodicals archive ?
Some environmental groups sympathize with NPS' position.
Wild Burros: Death Valley's 'aliens'?
- "other people's property") I hear our self-righteous angst: Why should we sympathize with beggars when we who give them so much may be the victims of their crimes etc.
The driven who ride anyway
Summary: Arab Spring initially made 82 percent of the population in the United States sympathize with Arab citizens.
Arab Spring opened window of sympathy, says author
However, the percentage who are neutral -- saying they sympathize equally with both, sympathize with neither, or expressing no opinion -- has shifted, with corresponding changes in support for Israel.
Americans Maintain Broad Support for Israel; U.S. adults nearly four times as likely to side with Israelis as with Palestinians
Sullivan is obviously in a lot of pain, but I can't fully sympathize with him when he chooses to remain in a place where he knows he'll get hurt.
Keeping the faith
She conveys Alex's confusion convincingly, and in the end readers will sympathize with everyone involved.
Frank, E.R. Friction
While I am not a supporter of the Anglican Communion in New Westminster in any formal sense, I certainly sympathize with their frustration and anxiety.
A shepherd's crook
Entman and Rojecki's research shows that most whites are ambivalent about African Americans; they sympathize with those who suffer from discrimination, yet they are impatient with ongoing black demands for racial justice.
The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America
Would Peters also sympathize with schools that refused to hire heterosexual males as high school teachers, on the grounds that these men are "powerfully attracted" to nubile teenage girls?
Letters
Brin, as a scientist rather than an engineer, does not sympathize with this intense desire to personally repair broken systems.
The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom?
Others may sympathize with students in Texas who travel over 90 miles one way to school by bus each day.
Tales from the Times: Real-Life Stories to Make You Think, Wonder, and Smile, from the Pages of The New York Times
Berman and other critics say they sympathize with Exon's concern about children accessing explicit material, but say that doesn't justify draconian restrictions on communication between consenting adults.
Cybercensors
I also sympathize with specific parts of the Pantheon agenda.
Seeing Through Movies
This includes using backdoor tactics to appeal to those who may sympathize with Bush but oppose a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Playing politics
Idioms browser ?
Full browser ?