commiserate

/kəˈmɪzəreɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /kəˈmɪzəreɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /kə-ˈmi-zə-ˌrāt/ (ame, mw)

commiserate — verb

  • commiseratepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • commiserateshe / she / it
  • commiseratedpast simple
  • commiserating-ing form

1. to share kind words or feelings of pity with someone who has just had something

1.動詞不及物C1
釋義

to share kind words or feelings of pity with someone who has just had something bad or disappointing happen to them — for example, telling a friend you are sorry after they lose a job or their team loses a final.

例句

Nadia called her brother to commiserate with him after his football team lost the final.

commiserate with + person + after-clause

The whole office gathered around Asher to commiserate over his failed promotion bid.

commiserate over + setback (topic)

同義詞
  • sympathize

    more everyday and slightly broader — you can sympathize with a stranger's view, but commiserate is usually face-to-face about a fresh setback

  • condole

    very formal; almost only used for deaths or serious losses, while commiserate covers everyday disappointments too

  • empathize

    stresses imagining the other person's feelings; commiserate stresses outwardly sharing them

  • console

    transitive and active — you console someone to reduce their pain; commiserate is just sharing the feeling, not fixing it

反義詞
  • gloat

    to show pleasure at another person's misfortune — the opposite reaction to bad news

  • celebrate

    to mark a happy event with another person, instead of a sad one

文法句型

commiserate with + person

commiserate with + person + over/on + topic

用法筆記

Almost always intransitive and paired with 'with' before the person who is suffering, plus 'over', 'on', or 'about' before the bad event. The shared feeling is what matters — there is no implication of fixing the problem, only of sitting with the other person in their disappointment.

常見錯誤

❌I commiserated my friend the loss.
✅I commiserated with my friend over the loss.
💡needs 'with' before the person; the bad event takes 'over', 'on', or 'about'.
❌He commiserated her into feeling better.
✅He comforted her, and she felt better.
💡'commiserate' only means to share sympathy; it does not mean to cheer someone up or solve their problem.