Definition of EMPATHY

empathy

Meanings

Plural: empathies

Noun

  • understanding and entering into another's feelings
  • Identification with or understanding of the thoughts, feelings, or emotional state of another person.
  • The capacity to understand another person's point of view or the result of such understanding.
  • A paranormal ability to psychically read another person's emotions.
  • MDMA.

Origin / 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.

Synonyms

ecstasy, fellow feeling

Scrabble Score: 17

empathy is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
empathy is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
empathy is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 17

empathy is a valid Words With Friends word