commiseration

/kəmɪzəˈreɪʃɪn/

/kəmɪzəˈreɪʃən/

Other forms: commiserations

Commiseration refers to feelings of sympathy for other people. If a friend's pet dies, you will probably want to express your commiseration.

If you are feeling commiseration for someone, they are probably going through difficult times. We feel commiseration when others suffer or feel pain and we understand that pain. We commiserate with them. The Latin root com- means "together with." Just as communication and community are words involving getting people together, commiseration is about feeling other people's pain.

Definitions of commiseration

1. noun

   a feeling of sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others
   synonyms: pathos, pity, ruth

   type of:

   fellow feeling, sympathy

   sharing the feelings of others (especially feelings of sorrow or anguish)
2. noun

   an expression of sympathy with another's grief
   synonyms: condolence

   type of:

   acknowledgement, acknowledgment

   a statement acknowledging something or someone