empathy
[ em-puh-thee ]
/ ˈɛm pə θi /
noun
the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.
the imaginative ascribing to an object, as a natural object or work of art, feelings or attitudes present in oneself: By means of empathy, a great painting becomes a mirror of the self.
Origin of empathy
Words nearby empathy
empanada,
empanel,
empathetic,
empathic,
empathize,
empathy,
empedocles,
empennage,
emperipolesis,
emperor,
emperor butterfly
Example sentences from the Web for empathy
British Dictionary definitions for empathy
empathy
/ (ˈɛmpəθɪ) /
noun
the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person's feelings
See also identification (def. 3b)
the attribution to an object, such as a work of art, of one's own emotional or intellectual feelings about it
Derived forms of empathy
empathist, nounWord Origin for empathy
C20: from Greek
empatheia affection, passion, intended as a rendering of German
Einfühlung, literally: a feeling in; see
en- ²,
-pathy
Medical definitions for empathy
empathy
[ ĕm′pə-thē ]
n.
Direct identification with, understanding of, and vicarious experience of another person's situation, feelings, and motives.
The projection of one's own feelings or emotional state onto an object or animal.
Other words from empathy
em′pa•thet′ic (-thĕt′ĭk) null adj.Cultural definitions for empathy
empathy
[ (em-puh-thee) ]
Identifying oneself completely with an object or person, sometimes even to the point of responding physically, as when, watching a baseball player swing at a pitch, one feels one's own muscles flex.