word-vault/dist/data/cards/sy/sympathetic.json

A lightweight JavaScript package for English word definitions and collections.

{
    "term": "sympathetic",
    "partOfSpeech": "adjective",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "kind to somebody who is hurt or sad; showing that you understand and care about their problems",
            "sensetop": "sympathetic to/towards somebody",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a sympathetic listener"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a sympathetic response"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was very sympathetic when I was sick."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I did not feel at all sympathetic towards Kate.",
                    "contextForm": "sympathetic to/towards somebody"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'm here if you need a **sympathetic ear** *(= somebody to talk to about your problems)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "His aggressive attitude makes me less sympathetic to his plight."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I found the doctors quite sympathetic."
                },
                {
                    "text": "My boss is being very sympathetic about my problems."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Her attitude to my situation was less than sympathetic."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She made suitably sympathetic noises down the phone."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a patient and deeply sympathetic man"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was a sympathetic and supportive friend."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Personal qualities"],
            "collocations": {
                "verbs": ["appear", "be", "feel"],
                "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"],
                "preposition": ["about", "to", "towards/​toward"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "showing that you approve of somebody/something or that you share their views and are willing to support them",
            "sensetop": "sympathetic to/towards somebody/something",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He was speaking to a highly sympathetic audience."
                },
                {
                    "text": "to be sympathetic to the party’s aims",
                    "contextForm": "sympathetic to/towards somebody/something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Russian newspapers are largely sympathetic to the president."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He'd written a not entirely sympathetic article in the ‘Globe’."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The government is broadly sympathetic to our ideas."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Opinion and argument"],
            "collocations": {
                "verbs": ["appear", "be", "feel"],
                "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"],
                "preposition": ["about", "to", "towards/​toward"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "easy to like",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a **sympathetic character** in a novel"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I don't find her a very sympathetic person."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The character's faults actually make him more sympathetic."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Personal qualities"],
            "collocations": {
                "verbs": ["appear", "be", "feel"],
                "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"],
                "preposition": ["about", "to", "towards/​toward"]
            }
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌsɪmpəˈθetɪk/",
                "audio": "sy/sympathetic/sympathetic__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌsɪmpəˈθetɪk/",
                "audio": "sy/sympathetic/sympathetic__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "mid 17th cent. (in the sense ‘relating to an affinity or paranormal influence’): from sympathy, on the pattern of pathetic."
}