sympathetic
Showing gentle concern
Sympathetic describes a feeling of understanding and care for someone else's suffering or misfortune: She was sympathetic when I told her about losing my job.
A sympathetic person is one who tends to show such feelings.
The word extends to things that are agreeable or compatible: a sympathetic portrayal presents its subject favorably, and sympathetic characters in fiction are ones the audience can root for.
In anatomy and physiology, the sympathetic nervous system controls involuntary responses like heart rate and digestion, particularly the "fight or flight" response.
Nerve system promoting rest
- fight-or-flightAcute threat reaction
- vagusTenth cranial nerve
- ganglionPeripheral nerve cell cluster
- neurotransmitterSynaptic chemical messenger
adrenaline · norepinephrine · acetylcholine · homeostasis · innervation · reflex · adrenergic · cholinergic
Showing concern for sufferers
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- caringShowing kind concern
- kindType or caring
- tenderSoft or sore
warmhearted · gentle · considerate · supportive · kindhearted · sensitive · concerned · moved
Offering help and reassurance
- encouragingGiving confidence or hope
- favorableInclined toward approval
- receptiveOpen to input
- well-disposedFavorably inclined toward something
approving · understanding · allied · aligned · like-minded · kindred · amenable · positive
Deeply vibrating with sound
- attunedAdjusted to perceive
- harmoniousPleasingly in accord
- consonantIn agreement with
- compatibleAble to work together
congruent · accordant · concordant · vibrating · responsive · synchronized · aligned · corresponding
parasympathetic
Nerve system promoting rest
- fight-or-flightAcute threat reaction
- vagusTenth cranial nerve
- ganglionPeripheral nerve cell cluster
neurotransmitter · adrenaline · norepinephrine · acetylcholine · homeostasis · innervation · reflex · adrenergic · cholinergic · visceral
compassionate
Showing concern for sufferers
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- caringShowing kind concern
- kindType or caring
tender · warmhearted · gentle · considerate · supportive · kindhearted · sensitive · concerned · moved · touched
supportive
Offering help and reassurance
- encouragingGiving confidence or hope
- favorableInclined toward approval
- receptiveOpen to input
well-disposed · approving · understanding · allied · aligned · like-minded · kindred · amenable · positive · friendly
resonant
Deeply vibrating with sound
- attunedAdjusted to perceive
- harmoniousPleasingly in accord
- consonantIn agreement with
compatible · congruent · accordant · concordant · vibrating · responsive · synchronized · aligned · corresponding · matching
likeable
Inspiring fond feelings
- relatableEasy to identify with
- approachableEasy to engage with
- appealingPleasant and inviting
engaging · personable · agreeable · pleasant · charming · endearing · winsome · congenial · affable · genial
- moodshappy, sad, angry, anxious, excited
- character typesprotagonist, hero, antagonist, villain, heroes
- gentlegentle, mild, soft, tender, meek
- false friendsactual, actually, embarrassed, eventually, fabric
- autonomic systemparasympathetic, vagus nerve, fight or flight, rest and digest, ganglia
- attitudespositive, negative, ambition, curiosity, determination
sympatheticunsympathetic
Without pity or understanding
unfeeling · callous · indifferent · uncaring · cold
sympathetichostile
Aggressively unfriendly
antagonistic · unfriendly · malevolent · cold · cruel
sympatheticantagonistic
Actively opposed or hostile
opposed · unsympathetic · hostile · against · unfavorable
- sympathetic responseReaction showing shared feeling
- sympathetic stringsUnplayed strings that vibrate
- sympathetic nervous systemAutonomic division activating arousal
- sympathetic magicBelief that resemblance enables influence
unsympathetic, sympathetic strings, sympathetically, unsympathetically