Short answer
Empathy usually emphasizes understanding or sharing another person’s feelings, often by imagining their point of view. Sympathy usually emphasizes concern or fellow feeling, especially when someone is suffering. The meanings overlap in ordinary use: sympathy need not be distant, and empathy need not involve feeling exactly what another person feels. 1 2 3
Empathy and sympathy are both nouns describing emotional responses to others, but empathy involves shared experience while sympathy centers on concern or support.
On this page
At a glance
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| Question | empathy | sympathy |
|---|---|---|
| Main emphasis | Understanding or sharing feelings | Concern or fellow feeling |
| Can feelings overlap? | Yes | Yes |
The table summarizes the stated definitions and scope. 1 2 3
What each thing is
Empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand, be sensitive to, and vicariously experience another person’s feelings, often by imagining oneself in their situation and actively sharing their emotional state. 1 2
Sympathy. Sympathy is a feeling or expression of sincere concern for someone experiencing difficulty or pain, typically without directly sharing or experiencing the other person’s emotional state. 1 3
Key differences
The main distinction is that empathy involves actively sharing or imagining another’s emotional experience, while sympathy is about feeling or expressing concern for someone else’s hardship without necessarily sharing their feelings. 1 2 3
How to tell them apart
A practical test is whether you feel as if you are emotionally in the other person’s place (empathy) or simply care about their situation (sympathy). However, people sometimes use the terms loosely, so context matters. 1 2
Where they overlap
Both terms describe caring responses and can appear in similar situations. In some casual or older uses, sympathy could also mean sharing feelings, which blurs the line between the two. 1 3
Edge cases
Historically, sympathy sometimes meant what empathy now does—sharing in another’s feelings. Today, empathy is more likely to be used for this sense, but some speakers and older texts may still use sympathy this way. 1 3
Why the distinction exists
Both words describe ways of responding to other people’s experiences. The useful everyday distinction concerns emphasis: empathy points toward understanding another person’s perspective, while sympathy often names concern or fellow feeling. Their dictionary senses overlap, so the boundary is not a measure of how deeply someone cares. 1 2 3
Common misconceptions
It is a common oversimplification to say sympathy is always distant or cold. In reality, sympathy can be deeply felt, but it does not necessarily involve imagining oneself in the other’s position as empathy does. 1 3
Examples
If someone says, “I can imagine how disappointed you feel,” they are showing empathy. If they say, “I’m sorry you’re going through this,” they are expressing sympathy. The first response tries to share the feeling; the second offers support. 1 2
Sources
Sources checked October 3, 2026.
- Merriam-Webster — Sympathy vs. Empathy: What’s the difference?. Usage guide: definitions, examples and exceptions.
- Merriam-Webster — Empathy Definition & Meaning. Dictionary entry: definitions, usage examples and word history.
- Merriam-Webster — Sympathy Definition & Meaning. Dictionary entry: definitions, usage examples and word history.