Compassions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A deep awareness of the suffering of others, combined with a desire to alleviate that pain; a profound empathy that motivates caring actions towards those in distress; an emotional response that compels one to offer support and understanding to individuals experiencing hardships
2. An understanding feeling towards the misfortunes of others that drives one to act kindly; a sympathetic connection to another's suffering, urging actions to help relieve their burdens; an internal drive fueled by empathy that fosters goodwill and nurturing behavior toward those in need
3. An ability to sense the struggles faced by others, fostering a wish to assist; a heartfelt acknowledgment of another's pain that inspires helpful deeds; an intrinsic urge to respond compassionately to the struggles and suffering encountered by people around us

Etymology: "Compassions" is the plural of "compassion," and it is a form worth a sentence of its own: it is used when speaking of several separate acts or instances of feeling for others. The noun itself comes from Latin "compati," meaning "to suffer together with," built from "com-" ("together") and "pati" ("to suffer"). The same "pati" root gives English "passion," which is why the two words are related, though "passion" came into English by a different route. The Latin verb passed into Medieval Latin as "compassio," meaning "sympathy," and then into Old French as "compassion." Middle English borrowed it from French as "compassioun." The English word thus carries the original sense of sharing another's suffering, and that literal meaning of co-suffering still sits underneath its modern sense of wanting to relieve it.

Synonyms: sympathies, empathies, pities, concerns, tendernesses

Antonyms: indifference, apathy, cruelty, insensitivity, heartlessness