compassion

compassion — noun

1. a feeling of deep care for someone who is going through pain or trouble, which m

1.nounB2
Definition

a feeling of deep care for someone who is going through pain or trouble, which makes you want to do something kind to help them

Example

The nurse looked at the frightened child with compassion and gently held his hand.

prepositional phrase: with compassion

When the Watanabe family's house burned down, the whole town was filled with compassion for them.

collocation: filled with compassion for

Common collocations
  • have compassion (for/toward)
  • feel compassion (for)
  • show compassion (to/toward)
  • out of compassion
  • with compassion
  • filled with compassion
  • deep compassion
  • great compassion
  • compassion for the poor / the sick / the homeless
Synonyms
  • sympathy

    overlaps with compassion but does not necessarily include the desire to help; sympathy is more about sharing in someone's sadness

  • empathy

    the ability to understand another person's feelings by imagining yourself in their position, rather than actively wanting to relieve their suffering

  • mercy

    kindness shown to someone who has done something wrong, by not punishing them as severely as they deserve; narrower than compassion

  • pity

    a feeling of sadness for someone's suffering, but can carry a sense of looking down on the person; compassion is more equal and action-oriented

Antonyms
  • cruelty

    deliberate infliction of pain or suffering, the opposite of wanting to help

  • indifference

    lack of interest or concern about someone's suffering, without the active care that compassion involves

Grammar Patterns

compassion for/toward [someone]

have/feel/show compassion

out of compassion

with compassion

Usage Note

Uncountable — you cannot say 'a compassion' (though 'a feeling of compassion' is fine). Common with the prepositions 'for' and 'toward'. Frequently used in phrases like 'out of compassion' (as a reason for an action) and 'with compassion' (describing how an action is done).

Common Mistakes

I feel a deep compassion for the victims.
I feel deep compassion for the victims.
Compassion is uncountable and does not take the indefinite article 'a'.
She showed compassion on the lost puppy.
She showed compassion for the lost puppy.
Use 'for' or 'toward', not 'on'.

Word family

  • compassionate
    adjectiveB2
  • compassionately
    adverbC1
  • compassionless
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Compassion, sympathy, empathy, pity, and mercy all relate to how we respond to someone in pain, but they differ in key ways. Sympathy is the most general — it means sharing a feeling of sadness for someone's situation, but it does not necessarily include a desire to act. Empathy is about mentally stepping into another person's shoes and understanding their feelings, while compassion adds an active wish to relieve the suffering. Pity can feel condescending because it highlights the gap between your own good fortune and the other person's misfortune. Mercy is narrower: it is compassion shown toward someone who has wronged you, by choosing not to punish them harshly. In everyday speech, 'I feel for you' (sympathy) differs from 'I want to help you' (compassion). For example, you might feel sympathy for a colleague who lost their job, but you show compassion by helping them update their résumé.

sympathy ↗empathy ↗pity ↗mercy ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • out of compassion
  • with compassion
  • filled with compassion

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Compassion entered English through Old French from Latin compassio, a word made of com- meaning 'together' and pati meaning 'to suffer'. So the root meaning is 'to suffer together with someone' — which captures the idea of sharing another person's pain rather than just observing it from a distance.