sympathy

attraction, affinity, sympathy mean the relationship existing between things or persons that are naturally or involuntarily drawn together.

attraction implies the possession by one thing of a quality that pulls another to it.

affinity implies a susceptibility or predisposition on the part of the one drawn.

sympathy implies a reciprocal or natural relation between two things that are both susceptible to the same influence.

pity, compassion, commiseration, condolence, sympathy mean the act or capacity for sharing the painful feelings of another.

pity implies tender or sometimes slightly contemptuous sorrow for one in misery or distress.

compassion implies pity coupled with an urgent desire to aid or to spare.

commiseration suggests pity expressed outwardly in exclamations, tears, or words of comfort.

condolence applies chiefly to formal expression of grief to one who has suffered loss.

sympathy often suggests a tender concern but can also imply a power to enter into another's emotional experience of any sort.