sympathetic

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Mid 17th century in the sense “relating to an affinity or paranormal influence”, from Latin sympathēticus.[1] By surface analysis, sympathy +‎ -etic (“pertaining to”); compare pathetic. Displaced native Old English efnþrōwiende.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˌsɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛtɪk

Adjective

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sympathetic (comparative more sympathetic, superlative most sympathetic)

  1. Of, related to, feeling, showing, or characterized by sympathy.
    • 1963, C. L. R. James, The Black Jacobins, 2nd revised edition, page 14:
      Vaublanc, in San Domingo so sympathetic to the sorrows of labour in France, had to fly from Paris in August, 1792, to escape the wrath of the French workers.
    John looked very upset. I gave him a sympathetic look.
    Antonym: unsympathetic
    1. Showing approval of or favor towards an idea or action.
      Synonym: approving
  2. Attracting the liking of others. (of a person)
    1. (construction) Designed in a sensitive or appropriate way.
  3. (relational) Relating to, producing, or denoting an effect which arises through an affinity, interdependence, or mutual association.
    Sympathetic magic is based on imitation or correspondence.
    sympathetic ink
    1. A supernatural connection or power resulting from two items having the same form or some other correspondence. (of magic)
      • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 225:
        One of his great enthusiasms was for a "sympathetic" weapon salve, an idea originating in Paracelsus.
    2. (sound) Relating to musical tones produced by sympathetic vibration or to strings so tuned as to sound by sympathetic vibration.
  4. (neuroanatomy, neurology, relational) Relating to or denoting the part of the autonomic nervous system consisting of nerves arising from ganglia near the middle part of the spinal cord, supplying the internal organs, blood vessels, and glands, and balancing the action of the parasympathetic nerves.
    Antonym: parasympathetic
    Sympathetic innervation involves epinephrine.
    • 1967, Leslie L. Iversen, The Uptake and Storage of Noradrenaline in Sympathetic Nerves, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 23:
      It was suggested that adrenaline might act at the junction of sympathetic nerves and the effector organs, and that adrenaline might be released at sympathetic nerve endings.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “sympathetic, adj. and n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
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