The words sympathy and empathy are, according to the dictionary, synonyms. Many people use them interchangeably, but they don’t mean exactly the same thing.
I can sympathize with pretty much anyone if I want to, but there are many people I cannot empathize with. For that I am thankful.
So what’s the difference? Let’s look at a few examples. I can sympathize with a starving child in a third world country or even here at home, but I can’t empathize because I have never truly been hungry.
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