empathize with

empathize with (someone or something)

To feel someone else's emotions along with them; to see or understand things from someone else's position or perspective. I used to resent my dad for the placid way he is with our domineering mother, but now that I've grown up a bit, I'm able to empathize with him and have a greater appreciation for what he must be going through. I can really empathize with Maggie because my mom died when I was a kid, too, and it was a devastating experience.
See also: empathize
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

empathize with someone or something

to have an understanding about the way someone feels; to feel emotional pain with someone. I can really empathize with what you must be going through. I've been through the same thing. I empathize with people who have the same family problems that I have.
See also: empathize
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • empathize
  • empathize with (someone or something)
  • come over
  • ride (one's) coattails
  • ride on (one's) coattails
  • ride on coattails
  • ride on someone's/something's coat-tails
  • ride (on) the coattails of (someone)
  • on the coattails of (someone)
  • on the coat-tails of someone/something
References in periodicals archive
Stressing she can empathize with the struggles of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Tessie Sy-Coson, vice-chair of the country's leading conglomerate SM Investment Corp.
But we empathize with the feelings of our players," Roque said in a press briefing Tuesday.
I empathize with movie characters to the point of muttering things like, "wow, that is so wonderful for them!" And I always assume when a stranger is rude that they must just be having a really bad day.
Some also shared their own experiences of losing a loved one to empathize with Delavin's plight.
This gripping novel follows the medical practice of Marc Schlosser, a doctor unable to truly empathize with his celebrity patients.
Chimpanzees appear to develop susceptibility to interspecies contagious yawning as they grow from infant to juvenile, possibly due to their developing ability to empathize with the person yawning.
Turning to another aspect of tutoring, Nancy Effinger Wilson and Keri Fitzgerald detail for us how they help tutors learn to overcome personal biases towards certain types of students so that they can empathize with all the students they work with, not just some.
I am proud to say that after much searching and struggling, I am able to empathize with Palestinian suffering, even as I do not endorse methods of violence and collective punishment.
I am proud to say that after much searching and struggling, I am able to sincerely empathize with Palestinian suffering, even as I do not endorse methods of violence and collective punishment.
A member of the DR community, Rodriguez can empathize with the victims and their families.
We certainly do empathize with the struggles you and your wife have experienced, but this does not justify ignorance of Catholic teaching which has been available for decades.
The reader respects Nathan and Liz; it is easy to empathize with each one of them.
You certainly will soon empathize with Togai and his many personal challenges.
Buffer didn't merely empathize with the alienated, dominated, and oppressed.
Says Roger Bowen, AAUP general counsel: "While we can empathize with the terrible disaster, it's difficult to be silent when so many faculty are losing their jobs, and in the absence of good data to demonstrate that that should happen." The AAUP sent a letter to the University of New Orleans in April addressing faculty layoffs there.