Sympathy means feeling sorry for someone who is in trouble, and also condolences: Please accept our deepest sympathy. A second meaning is support for someone's views or demands: in sympathy with the strikers. It does not mean liking someone: if you like a person, say I like him, and if you are attracted to them, use attraction or I'm attracted to him.
sympathy: will you get the meaning right?
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have/feel + sympathy for + person; express/offer + sympathy (to + family); little/no + sympathy for; in sympathy with + cause/views
- Everyone in the office signed a card to express their sympathy after Tom's father died.
- The driver got little sympathy from the judge because he had been caught speeding before.
- Many parents are in sympathy with the teachers' demand for smaller classes.
What changed
First versionI think Anna has sympathy for you: she always smiles when you walk into the room.
RevisionI think Anna likes you: she always smiles when you walk into the room.
The speaker wants to say that Anna likes someone. But has sympathy for you means “feels sorry for you”, as if something bad had happened to you. For liking, English has the simple verb like.
A related word is empathy, the ability to feel what another person feels by putting yourself in their place. Sympathy is concern from the outside, while empathy often comes from your own experience: She was unemployed for a year, so she has real empathy for job seekers.
Your turn
Tom felt an instant ___ to Lena when they met at a conference, and a year later they got married.
Show the answer
attraction — They got married a year later, so this is about romantic interest, and you need attraction. You feel sympathy for someone who is in trouble, not for someone you are falling in love with. Similar words in several languages do mean “liking”, but English sympathy doesn't.
Write a short message to a colleague or friend who has had some bad luck. Express your sympathy and offer specific help.
I heard about your broken leg, and you have my sympathy; I'd be happy to do your shopping this week.
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