Link Centre Dictionary

compassionate

com·pas·sio·nate

UK/kəmˈpæʃəneɪt/ US/kʌˈmpæʃʌnʌt/ fairly common
adjective (3) verb (1)

adjective

1.

showing merciful compassion

  • “sparing the child”
Similar
2.

showing or having compassion

  • “heard the soft and compassionate voices of women”
Antonyms
Similar
3.

showing recognition of unusually distressful circumstances

  • “compassionate leave”
  • “considered for a compassionate discharge because of domestic difficulties”
Similar

verb

1.

Origin

A pseudo-Latin form of French compassionné, past participle of compassionner (“feel sorry for”). By surface analysis, compassion + -ate.

Phrases

  • compassionate conservatism
  • compassionate conservativism
  • compassionate leave
  • compassionate use

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.