Main Difference
The main difference between Sympathy and Empathy is that the Sympathy is a perception, understanding, and reaction to the distress or need of another human being and Empathy is a capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing.
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Sympathy
Sympathy (from the Greek words syn “together” and pathos “feeling” which means “fellow-feeling”) is the perception, understanding, and reaction to the distress or need of another life form. This empathic concern is driven by a switch in viewpoint, from a personal perspective to the perspective of another group or individual who is in need.
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Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. There are many definitions for empathy that encompass a broad range of emotional states. Types of empathy include cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and somatic empathy.
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Sympathy (noun)
A feeling of pity or sorrow for the suffering or distress of another; compassion.
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Sympathy (noun)
The ability to share the feelings of another.
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Sympathy (noun)
A mutual relationship between people or things such that they are correspondingly affected by any condition.
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Sympathy (noun)
Tendency towards or approval of the aims of a movement.
“Many people in Hollywood were blacklisted merely because they were suspected of Communist sympathies.”
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Empathy (noun)
Identification with or understanding of the thoughts, feelings, or emotional state of another person.
“She had a lot of empathy for her neighbor; she knew what it was like to lose a parent too.”
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Empathy (noun)
Capacity to understand another person’s point of view or the result of such understanding.
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Empathy (noun)
A paranormal ability to psychically read another person’s emotions.