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Compassion is not a popular virtue. Very often when I talk to religious people, and mention how important it is that compassion is the key, that it's the sine-qua-non of religion, people look kind of balked, and stubborn sometimes, as much to say, what's the point of having religion if you can't disapprove of other people?
Karen Armstrong

Meaning of "compassion" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD COMPASSION

From Old French, from Late Latin compassiō fellow feeling, from compatī to suffer with, from Latin com- with + patī to bear, suffer.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF COMPASSION

compassion  [kəmˈpæʃən] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF COMPASSION

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Compassion is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES COMPASSION MEAN IN ENGLISH?

compassion

Compassion

Compassion is the feeling of empathy for others. Compassion is the emotion that we feel in response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help. Compassion is often regarded as having an emotional aspect to it, though when based on cerebral notions such as fairness, justice and interdependence, it may be considered rational in nature and its application understood as an activity based on sound judgment. There is also an aspect of compassion which regards a quantitative dimension, such that individual's compassion is often given a property of "depth," "vigour," or "passion." The etymology of "compassion" is Latin, meaning "co-suffering." More involved than simple empathy, compassion commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering. Compassion is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the social context as altruism. In ethical terms, the expressions down the ages of the so-called Golden Rule often embodies by implication the principle of compassion: Do to others what you would have them do to you. The English noun compassion, meaning to love together with, comes from Latin.

Definition of compassion in the English dictionary

The definition of compassion in the dictionary is a feeling of distress and pity for the suffering or misfortune of another, often including the desire to alleviate it.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH COMPASSION


antifashion
ˌæntɪˈfæʃən
ashen
ˈæʃən
deration
diːˈræʃən
desideration
ˈdeɪsiːdiːˈræʃən
dispassion
dɪsˈpæʃən
fashion
ˈfæʃən
impassion
ɪmˈpæʃən
outpassion
ˌaʊtˈpæʃən
passion
ˈpæʃən
ration
ˈræʃən
refashion
riːˈfæʃən
Wakashan
wɑːˈkæʃən

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE COMPASSION

compass
compass card
compass course
compass plant
compass point
compass rose
compass saw
compass window
compassable
compasses
compassings
Compassion Club
compassion fatigue
compassionable
compassionate
compassionate leave
compassionately
compassionateness
compassionless
compast

WORDS THAT END LIKE COMPASSION

admission
commission
compression
confession
conversion
depression
discussion
emission
expression
impression
mission
obsession
permission
possession
pression
profession
progression
session
submission
suppression
transmission

Synonyms and antonyms of compassion in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «COMPASSION»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «compassion» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of compassion

Translation of «compassion» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF COMPASSION

Find out the translation of compassion to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of compassion from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «compassion» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

同情
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

compasión
570 millions of speakers

English

compassion
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

करुणा
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الرحمة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

сострадание
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

compaixão
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

সমবেদনা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

compassion
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Belas kasihan
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Mitgefühl
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

同情
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

연민
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Karep
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

lòng từ bi
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

இரக்க
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

अनुकंपा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

merhamet
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

compassione
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

współczucie
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

співчуття
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

compasiune
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

συμπόνια
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

deernis
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

medkänsla
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

medfølelse
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of compassion

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «COMPASSION»

The term «compassion» is very widely used and occupies the 15.811 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
93
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «compassion» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of compassion
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «compassion».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «COMPASSION» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «compassion» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «compassion» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about compassion

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «COMPASSION»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word compassion.
1
Karen Armstrong
Compassion is not a popular virtue. Very often when I talk to religious people, and mention how important it is that compassion is the key, that it's the sine-qua-non of religion, people look kind of balked, and stubborn sometimes, as much to say, what's the point of having religion if you can't disapprove of other people?
2
Karen Armstrong
Compassion is the key in Islam and Buddhism and Judaism and Christianity. They are profoundly similar.
3
Joe Arpaio
I have compassion, I've told you people that over and over again. Enforcing the law overrides my compassion.
4
Francis of Assisi
If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
5
Julian Bond
The war in Iraq has as much to do with terrorism as the administration has to do with compassion.
6
Tara Brach
Feeling compassion for ourselves in no way releases us from responsibility for our actions. Rather, it releases us from the self-hatred that prevents us from responding to our life with clarity and balance.
7
Georg Brandes
A love for humanity came over me, and watered and fertilised the fields of my inner world which had been lying fallow, and this love of humanity vented itself in a vast compassion.
8
Conrad Burns
Our highly qualified teachers not only work hard, but they care about each and every student that enters their classroom. I thank you, Montana teachers, for your sense of duty and compassion to our precious future generation.
9
Joseph Butler
Compassion is a call, a demand of nature, to relieve the unhappy as hunger is a natural call for food.
10
Frank Capra
Compassion is a two way street.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «COMPASSION»

Discover the use of compassion in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to compassion and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave ...
This book powerfully demonstrates why it's so important to be self-compassionate and give yourself the same caring support you'd give to a good friend.
Dr. Kristin Neff, 2011
2
Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life
In this provocative essay on that least understood virtue, compassion, the authors challenge themselves and us with these questions: Where do we place compassion in our lives?
Donald P. McNeill, Douglas A. Morrison, Henri J. M. Nouwen, 2005
3
Compassion: The Ultimate Flowering of Love
In this tenth volume of the popular Insights for a New Way of Living series, Osho examines the nature of compassion from a radically different perspective.
Osho, 2010
4
Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life
From the Hardcover edition.
Karen Armstrong, 2010
5
The Tragedy of American Compassion
"A richly documented, controversial history of the welfare state...." --Publishers Weekly
Marvin Olasky, 1994
6
Compassion Fatigue: Coping With Secondary Traumatic Stress ...
This volume is the latest in a series that focuses on the immediate and long-term consequences of highly stressful events.
Charles R. Figley, 2013
7
Compulsory Compassion: A Critique of Restorative Justice
In Compulsory Compassion, Annalise Acorn, a one-time advocatefor restorative justice, deconstructs the rhetoric of the restorativemovement.
Annalise E. Acorn, 2004
8
Compassion: Listening to the Cries of the World
In Compassion, Christina Feldman draws over 30 years of experience as a Buddhist to explain how ordinary people are able to use compassion to overcome negative feelings like tragedy, pain, and terror.
Christina Feldman, 2013
9
Compassion: The Core Value That Animates Psychotherapy
This text is an attempt to stimulate and support therapists' efforts to take care of themselves, to understand and maintain commitment. Such reflection, it argues helps therapists to be active and receptive.
Roger A. Lewin, 1996
10
The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself from ...
Over his decades of experience as a therapist and mindfulness meditation practitioner, Dr. Christopher Germer has learned a paradoxical lesson: We all want to avoid pain, but letting it in--and responding compassionately to our own ...
Christopher K. Germer, 2009

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «COMPASSION»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term compassion is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Alleged murder victim remembered for compassion
“Her caring and compassion didn't stop at the end of her shift” at the hospital, where Vandeschraaf served for 38 years as a trauma nurse and ... «Pekin Daily Times, Jul 15»
2
Dialogue key to peace, Dalai Lama says at Global Compassion
Speaking at the second day of the Global Compassion Summit here, the Tibetan spiritual leader said that it is important to create more ... «Phayul, Jul 15»
3
This Teen Is Teaching His Bullies What Compassion Looks Like
When he was three years old, Gavin Joseph's family found out he had Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD. Recently, he was brutally attacked by ... «MTV.com, Jul 15»
4
No ace in the hole for Vancouver compassion clubs
Jamie Shaw, spokeswoman for the BC Compassion Club Society and president of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis ... «24 Hours Vancouver, Jul 15»
5
'I'll take competency over compassion'
There, I've said it. I know it's controversial, and I realise it's not the done thing to say that anything is more important in nursing than compassion ... «Nursing Times, Jul 15»
6
Free Livestream compassion meditation event - Saturday, July 11 …
You're invited to join Deepak Chopra's largest global Meditation for Compassion this Saturday on July 11th in Carlsbad, CA for the live event, ... «Examiner.com, Jul 15»
7
Ooredoo Goodwill Ambassadors return home from their countrywide …
... Ooredoo's Ambassadors returned to Muscat after travelling more than 4,000 kilometers on a voyage of compassion across the Sultanate. «Al-Bawaba, Jul 15»
8
Dalai Lama's universal lesson on compassion
How simple and how easy for us to forget in the middle of the rush and pull of everyday life, to put on compassion-tinted glasses, I thought. «Times of India, Jul 15»
9
Chris Mackey: Compassion builds human connection
As another panel member described, his wife's interjection was not so much based on anger as compassion. Her focus was on the wellbeing of ... «Geelong Advertiser, Jul 15»
10
Pope Francis bears message of compassion for the weak on trip to …
Pope Francis returns to his home continent of Latin America for a nine-day mission to reach out to some of the region's poorest and most ... «Christian Science Monitor, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Compassion [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/compassion>. Apr 2024 ».
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