feel someone's pain
Understand another's hurt
To feel someone's pain is to empathize deeply with their suffering or difficult situation, understanding their distress as if experiencing it yourself.
The phrase gained widespread currency after Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, where his empathetic style made I feel your pain both a catchphrase and, eventually, a target of parody.
It can be used sincerely to express genuine compassion or sarcastically to dismiss someone's complaints as trivial or exaggerated.
- friendshipBond of mutual affection
- compassionConcern for others' distress
- sympathyCompassionate understanding of others
- solidarityUnity among allies
- understandingMental comprehension of something
shared experience · attunement · trust · altruism · kindness · emotional resonance · deep connection · commiseration · vulnerability · human touch · sensitivity · lending an ear · shoulder to cry on · being there · emotional support · support · community · common ground
feel someone's painindifference
Lack of interest
apathy · cold-heartedness · callousness · unconcern · emotional detachment
feel someone's painschadenfreude
Delight in others' misfortune
gloat · sadism · cruelty · malice · rub salt in the wound
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