commiserate

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /kəˈmɪzəˌreɪt/ UK /kəˈmɪzəreɪt/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to express sympathy or pity for someone's misfortune

Friends gathered to commiserate with her after the loss.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to express sympathy or pity... sympathize pity condoleempathizeconsole

Opposites

gloat rejoice

Word family

Derived forms commiserationcommiserativecommiserator

Related forms miserable misery commiseration

Etymology

From Latin commiseratus, past participle of commiserari ('to pity'), from com- (intensive) + miserari ('to lament, pity'), from miser ('wretched').

commiserari Latin miser Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Word Formation & Derivatives

# commiserate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** kəˈmɪzəˌreɪt
**IPA (UK):** kəˈmɪzəreɪt

## Meanings
1. to express sympathy or pity for someone's misfortune

## Examples
- Friends gathered to commiserate with her after the loss.

## Synonyms
- sympathize
- pity
- condole
- empathize
- console

## Antonyms
- gloat
- rejoice

## Derived Forms
- commiseration
- commiserative
- commiserator

## Related Forms
- miserable
- misery
- commiseration

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: commiserari
- Root: miser

## Etymology
From Latin commiseratus, past participle of commiserari ('to pity'), from com- (intensive) + miserari ('to lament, pity'), from miser ('wretched').

## AI Etymology
Commiserate comes from Latin commiseratus, past participle of commiserari ('to pity'), from com- (intensive) + miserari ('to lament, pity'), from miser ('wretched'). The historical trail runs through Latin commiserari and Latin miser. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means to express sympathy or pity for someone's misfortune. Derived formations include commiseration, commiserative, commiserator; related forms include miserable, misery, commiseration.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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commiserate

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