SYMPATHETIC • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Sympathetic

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/sˌɪmpəθˈɛtɪk/ Listen

adjective

Sympathetic adj.

1.

Inclined to sympathy; sympathizing. "Far wiser he, whose sympathetic mind Exults in all the good of all mankind."

2.

Produced by, or expressive of, sympathy. "Ope the sacred source of sympathetic tears."

3.

(Physiol.)

(a)

Produced by sympathy; applied particularly to symptoms or affections. See Sympathy.

(b)

Of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system or some of its branches; produced by stimulation on the sympathetic nervious system or some part of it; as, the sympathetic saliva, a modified form of saliva, produced from some of the salivary glands by stimulation of a sympathetic nerve fiber.

Sympathetic ink. (Chem.) See under Ink.

Sympathetic nerve (Anat.), any nerve of the sympathetic system; especially, the axial chain of ganglions and nerves belonging to the sympathetic system.

Sympathetic powder (Alchemy), a kind of powder long supposed to be able to cure a wound if applied to the weapon that inflicted it, or even to a portion of the bloody clothes.

Sympathetic sounds (Physics), sounds produced from solid bodies by means of vibrations which have been communicated to them from some other sounding body, by means of the air or an intervening solid.

Sympathetic system (Anat.), a system of nerves and nerve ganglions connected with the alimentary canal, the vascular system, and the glandular organs of most vertebrates, and controlling more or less their actions. The axial part of the system and its principal ganglions and nerves are situated in the body cavity and form a chain of ganglions on each side of the vertebral column connected with numerous other ganglions and nerve plexuses.

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Etymology of 'Sympathetic'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Sympathetic" Quotes from Famous Books

... discord, unambitious of conquests, respecting the rights of other nations, and desirous merely to avail themselves of their natural resources, might be permitted to behold the scenes which desolate that quarter of the globe with only those sympathetic emotions which are natural to the lovers of peace and friends of the human race. But we are led by events to associate with these feelings a sense of the dangers which menace our security and peace. We rely upon ...

— A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents - Section 2 (of 4) of Volume 1: John Adams • Edited by James D. Richardson

... relative: his generosity, begun in inclination, was nurtured by reflection, and strengthened with a daily exercise which had rendered it a habit of his nature. Want never appeared before him without exciting a sympathetic emotion in his heart, which never rested until he had administered every comfort in the power of wealth to bestow. His compassion and his purse were the substance and shadow of each other. The ...

— Thaddeus of Warsaw • Jane Porter

... no other government in this country than the government of the United States, and to whom the Revolutionary War was but a tradition. Born in the very year of the peace, it was a part of Irving's mission, by the sympathetic charm of his writings and by the cordial recognition which he won in both countries, to allay the soreness which the second war, of 1812-15, had left between England and America. He was {408} well fitted for the task of mediator. Conservative by nature, early drawn to the venerable worship of ...

— Brief History of English and American Literature • Henry A. Beers

... others had heard what Margaret had whispered to her, they had guessed, from the sympathetic expression of her face, that she had taken Joan's pretence of rage for a real outburst, and was comforting her; and that in spite of that, Joan should still wish to make game of her seemed to them horribly unfair. Geoffrey was the first to show his disapproval of Joan's conduct. A joke was ...

— The Rebellion of Margaret • Geraldine Mockler

... remembrances of my delight in the histories of Joseph and of David; and of my keen appreciation of the chivalrous kindness of Abraham in his dealings with Lot. Like a sudden flash there returns back upon me, my utter scorn of the pettifogging meanness of Jacob, and my sympathetic grief over the heartbreaking lamentation of the cheated Esau, "Hast thou not a blessing for me also, O my father?" And I see, as in a cloud, pictures of the grand phantasmagoria of ...

— Critiques and Addresses • Thomas Henry Huxley

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