empathic

adjective

em·​path·​ic em-ˈpa-thik How to pronounce empathic (audio)
im-
: involving, characterized by, or based on empathy : empathetic
It is also during early childhood that people begin experiencing empathic guilt—feeling distress when they have been the cause of someone else's discomfort.Joseph Alper
empathically adverb
listening empathically

Examples of empathic in a Sentence

gave an empathic nod as I recounted my repeated efforts to land a decent-paying job in a tough economy
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Across species, this region has been shown to play a role in evaluating social rewards, empathic responses and decisions involving others. Tobias Kalenscher, Scientific American, 13 June 2025 People who made more empathic effort (trying to understand how the other person feels) and were less focused on protecting their ego were more likely to apologize well. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025 Artificial empathy, a concept explored in AI research, aims to model empathic understanding computationally. Yujia Zhu, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025 For 55 years, the characters of Sesame Street have taught us how to count, how to read — and as importantly, how to be kind, empathic and compassionate. Afdhel Aziz, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for empathic

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of empathic was in 1909

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Cite this Entry

“Empathic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathic. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.

Medical Definition

empathic

adjective
em·​path·​ic em-ˈpath-ik, im- How to pronounce empathic (audio)
: involving, characterized by, or based on empathy
empathically adverb
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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