Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
commiserate. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
commiserate, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
commiserate in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
commiserate you have here. The definition of the word
commiserate will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
commiserate, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology 1
From commiserātus, the perfect passive participle of commiseror.
Pronunciation
Adjective
commiserate (not comparable)
- (obsolete, rare) commiserating, pitying, lamentful
- 1593: Thomas Nashe, Christ’s Teares over Jerusalem, page 157 (1815 edited republication)
- In the time of Gregory Nazianzene, if we may credit ecclesiastical records, there sprung up the direfulest mortality in Rome that mankind hath been acquainted with; scarce able were the living to bury the dead, and not so much but their streets were digged up for graves, which this holy Father (with no little commiserate heart-bleeding) beholding, commanded all the clergy (for he was at that time their chief bishop) to assemble in prayer and supplications, and deal forcingly beseeching with God, to intermit his fury and forgive them.
References
Etymology 2
From the above adjective, see at -ate for more.
Pronunciation
Verb
commiserate (third-person singular simple present commiserates, present participle commiserating, simple past and past participle commiserated)
- (transitive) To feel or express compassion or sympathy for (someone or something).
A few individuals who commiserated the unhappy condition of British negro slaves.
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXVI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. , volume II, London: Henry Colburn, , →OCLC, page 160:Lord Meersbrook had remarked the same woman a day or two before, peering into the area, as if looking for some of the servants, yet neither venturing to ring nor knock; he concluded she was there for no good, but the self-commiserating tone in which she spoke, together with her Irish accent, now caught his ear;...
- (intransitive, as the phrasal verb commiserate with) To sympathize; condole.
- (transitive, intransitive) To offer condolences jointly with; express sympathy with. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
Derived terms
Translations
to feel or express compassion or sympathy
Translations to be checked
References
Italian
Etymology 1
Verb
commiserate
- inflection of commiserare:
- second-person plural present indicative
- second-person plural imperative
Etymology 2
Participle
commiserate f pl
- feminine plural of commiserato
Anagrams
Latin
Participle
commiserāte
- vocative masculine singular of commiserātus