mindmap root((同情)) sympathy is the most general term, ranging in meaning from friendly interest or agreement in taste to emotional identification: felt ~ for his political beliefs. pity implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sympathy or sorrow for one in distress: he felt a tender ~ for her. compassion implies tenderness and understanding and a desire to aid or spare: treated the sick with great ~; BUT can be quite impersonal in its reference: justice tempered with ~. ruth is likely to suggest pity or compassion resulting from the softening of a stern or indifference spirit: an old man ignorant of the healing effects of ~. empathy implies a capacity for vicarious feeling, but the feeling need not be one of sorrow not involve agreement: lacked capacity for ~ for the plight of others.