Sympathy

[Mark Zuckerberg]

Sympathy differs from empathy in the following ways:
With sympathy, the helper:
Helps within his/her comfort zone
Makes a cursory judgment of the persons needs
Often will get upset when it is explicitly revealed that their help is misguided or unwelcome (after a long buildup)
May feel as if he or she is the mentor, or the superior
With empathy, the helper:
Relates to the person on a personal basis
Forms a deep emotional bond with the person on many levels
Learns to see the situation from the persons perspective
Sees the person more as an equal, and walks in their shoes.
The two should not be confused. More often than not, sympathy is the form of caring that is given to those in need, and can be quite misguided, especially in dire situations that most are not used to dealing with. Most therapists, teachers, and unfortunately parents will often give this kind of help to a troubled or very upset person. However, if they were willing to step outside their comfort zones, they could learn how to relate effectively.
Despite these huge differences, many indeed DO confuse the two.

[Tina]

A word in the dictionary which falls alphabetically between the words shit and syphillis.

[Sonia]

1. to care about someone elses feelings when they experience sadness or negative emotion due to an unfortunate event or situation.

2. two or more people have a goal, interest or opinion in common.

3. to feel support for a person or thing.

[Tina]

a word between shit and syphilis

[Zipporah Schumaker]

Someone who has a mental age of 2 and sticks his teeth out permanently to show he needs sympathy

[Sarah]

to like somebody

[Gregory]

Located in the dictionary between shit and syphilis, according to Major Payne

[Little_Girl]

Feelings of pity and sorrow for someone elses misfortune.

[Agnes]

(an expression of) understanding and care for someone elses suffering: