Synonyms & related words for empathy

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of empathy — including compassion, sympathy, perceptiveness, pathos, understanding, tenderness. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to empathy

Explore words related to empathy — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include empathic, empathetic, empathically, commiserative, commiseration, empathize, emotion, tenderheartedly. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for empathy

Common synonyms for empathy include compassion, sympathy, perceptiveness, pathos, understanding, tenderness, sensitivity, sensitiveness — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does empathy come from?

The word empathy breaks down into 2 roots of Greek origin: em-, from Greek en (“in”); and -path, from Greek paskhein (“to suffer, experience, be affected”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.