- a feeling of distress and pity for the suffering or misfortune of another, often including the desire to alleviate it
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
com•pas•sion /kəmˈpæʃən/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
com•pas•sion•ate•ly, adv.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a feeling of sympathy for another's misfortune.
com•pas•sion•ate•ly, adv.
com•pas•sion
(kəm pash′ən),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
com•pas′sion•less, adj.
- a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.
v.t.
- [Archaic.]to compassionate.
- Late Latin compassiōn- (stem of compassiō). See com-, passion
- Anglo-French)
- Middle English (1300–50
- 1. commiseration, mercy, tenderness, heart, clemency. See sympathy.
- 1. mercilessness, indifference.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
compassion /kəmˈpæʃən/ n
'compassion' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
alas
- aroha
- caring
- commiserate
- compassionate
- Compassion Club
- compassion fatigue
- compatible
- fatigue
- feel
- Good Samaritan
- have
- misericord
- move
- pitiful
- remorse
- remorseless
- ruth
- sympathy
- sympathize
- synthetic
- alms
- bankrupt
- bleeding
- bowel
- brittle
- clemency
- condolent
- corazón
- cruel
- cruelhearted
- feeling
- hard
- humane
- incarnate
- indwell
- inhuman
- inhumane
- karuna
- kindness
- Lincolnesque
- marble
- mercy
- pathos
- pity
- rue
- ruthless
- tend
- tender
- vihara