compassion
- A deep awareness of another's suffering combined with the desire to relieve it.
In a sentence
- The nurse showed great compassion toward patients who had no family to visit them.
- Acts of compassion, however small, can profoundly change someone's difficult day.
Usage note. Distinguish 'compassion' from 'sympathy': compassion implies a motivation to help, while sympathy may remain a passive feeling of shared sorrow.
Where it comes from
English compassion — “desire to relieve suffering” · entered English 14th c.
From Old French 'compassion' and Late Latin 'compassio' (sympathy), from 'compati' (to suffer with), combining 'com-' (together, with) and 'pati' (to suffer). Entered English in the 14th century. Latin 'pati' traces to Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- (to suffer, protect). (Source: Oxford, Merriam-Webster)