empathy

Definition

Identification with or understanding of the thoughts, feelings, or emotional state of another person.

Etymology

A twentieth-century borrowing from Ancient Greek ἐμπάθεια (empátheia, literally “passion”) (formed from ἐν (en, “in, at”) + πάθος (páthos, “feeling”)), equivalent to em- + -pathy, coined by Edward Bradford Titchener in 1909 to translate German Einfühlung. The modern word in Greek εμπάθεια (empátheia) has an opposite meaning denoting strong negative feelings and prejudice against someone.

Example Sentences

• "She had a lot of empathy for her neighbor; she knew what it was like to lose a parent too."
• "Like your body's in the room but you're not really there / Like you have empathy inside but you don't really care / Like you're fresh outta love but it's been in the air / Am I past repair?"
• "While Musk said he believes in empathy and that “you should care about other people,” he also thinks it’s destroying society."

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