What does empathize mean?
Empathize is a verb meaning to understand and share the feelings of another person — not merely to feel sorry for them, but to place oneself imaginatively in their situation and experience something akin to their emotions. It is nearly always followed by the preposition "with", as in "she could empathize with his anxiety before the exam." The word derives from empathy, itself coined in the early twentieth century from Greek roots: "em-" meaning "in" and "pathos" meaning "feeling". In everyday use, empathizing suggests emotional intelligence, compassion, and genuine connection, making it a valued quality in contexts ranging from friendship and parenting to medicine, counselling, and leadership. Writers sometimes distinguish it from sympathy, which implies pity or sorrow felt on someone's behalf rather than shared understanding. Empathize is standard in both British and American English, though British writers may also spell it empathise.
verbTo understand and share the feelings of another person; to imagine oneself in another's situation and experience their emotions vicariously.
- To understand and share another person's feelings or experiences by imagining oneself in their position.
"She could empathize with the grief of losing a pet, having experienced the same loss herself."
"As a former refugee, he could empathize with families starting over in a new country."
"Good therapists listen carefully so they can empathize without judgment."
"Empathy" was coined only in 1909 as a translation of the German "Einfühlung" — literally "feeling into" — originally used to describe how viewers project themselves into works of art.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of empathize
The verb empathize derives from the noun empathy, which was coined in English around the early twentieth century as a translation of the German "Einfühlung", literally "feeling into" — a term used in aesthetics to describe projecting oneself into an artwork. Both words are built on Greek elements: "em-" (in) and "pathos" (feeling, suffering). Related forms sharing this root include sympathy and apathy, which likewise descend from Greek compounds with "pathos".
Related word forms
How empathize is actually used
Standard American spelling is "empathize" (with -ize); British usage increasingly favors "empathise", though -ize spellings are also accepted in Oxford style. The verb is almost always followed by "with". It carries a warm, positive connotation of emotional attunement.
Easily confused with empathize
To sympathize is to feel sorrow or pity for someone's suffering, while to empathize is to genuinely share or understand their feelings as if they were your own.