---
title: sympathetic — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sympathetic» in the school dictionary: Sympathetic means showing that you understand and care about someone's sadness or problems: a sympathetic friend. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sympathetic

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Sympathetic, you, one readers, nurse, I, friends · **What happens:** mean, show, understand, care, agree, support · **To what, where:** group, arm, sympathetic character, sympathetic smile, me, face · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«sympathetic» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [sympathetic in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sympathetic.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sympathetic means showing that you understand and care about someone's sadness or problems: a sympathetic friend.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:m1:1
# text = Sympathetic means showing that you understand and care about someone's sadness or problems: a sympathetic friend.
1	Sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	showing	show	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	understand	understand	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	care	care	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
9	about	about	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	12	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	's	's	PART	POS	_	10	case	_	_
12	sadness	sadness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	problems	problem	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	18	punct	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Sympathetic |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **show** *not said to happen* | gerund | Sympathetic *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **understand** | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **care** | present | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about someone's sadness or problems and a sympathetic friend | vn care-88.1-1 «NP V PP.stimulus what S»: agent=Experiencer about sadness=Stimulus |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sympathetic to an idea or group means agreeing with it or supporting it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:m2:1
# text = Sympathetic to an idea or group means agreeing with it or supporting it.
1	Sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	nsubj	_	_
2	to	to	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	agreeing	agree	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	ccomp	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obl	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	supporting	support	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	conj	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Sympathetic |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **agree** *speech: agree* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | with group | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V PP.co-agent how S»: agent=Agent with it=Co-Agent |
| 3 | **support** | gerund |  | group |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sympathetic character in a story is one readers like and care about.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:m3:1
# text = A sympathetic character in a story is one readers like and care about.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	character	character	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl:unmarked	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	readers	reader	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	like	like	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	care	care	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	conj	_	_
13	about	about	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | one readers |  |  |  |  | a sympathetic character in a story *obl:unmarked*; like *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **care** | present | one readers *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about *property* | vn care-88.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The nurse was very sympathetic when I hurt my arm.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:x1:1
# text = The nurse was very sympathetic when I hurt my arm.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nurse	nurse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
7	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	hurt	hurt	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
9	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	arm	arm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the nurse |  |  |  |  | sympathetic *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **hurt** | past | I | my arm |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer arm=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My friends were sympathetic when my cat died.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:x2:1
# text = My friends were sympathetic when my cat died.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	friends	friend	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	8	mark	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	died	die	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | My friends |  |  |  |  | sympathetic *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **die** | past | my cat |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The head teacher is sympathetic to our idea for a garden.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:x3:1
# text = The head teacher is sympathetic to our idea for a garden.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	garden	garden	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the head teacher |  |  |  |  | to our idea for a garden; sympathetic *property* | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The hero is a sympathetic character because he is brave and kind.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:x4:1
# text = The hero is a sympathetic character because he is brave and kind.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	hero	hero	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	character	character	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	brave	brave	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	acl	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	kind	kind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the hero | a sympathetic character |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | he | a sympathetic character *not said here* |  |  |  | brave *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | he *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She gave me a sympathetic smile.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:x5:1
# text = She gave me a sympathetic smile.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	iobj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	smile	smile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | She | a sympathetic smile | me |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent i=Recipient smile=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Not everyone was sympathetic to his complaints.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:x6:1
# text = Not everyone was sympathetic to his complaints.
1	Not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	2	advmod	_	_
2	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	complaints	complaint	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | everyone |  |  |  |  | to his complaints; sympathetic *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **complain** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom complaint «state intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But, when the two heroes met face to face, both were seized with an impulse of sympathetic admiration for each other.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sympathetic:x7:1
# text = But, when the two heroes met face to face, both were seized with an impulse of sympathetic admiration for each other.
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
3	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	7	mark	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	heroes	hero	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	met	meet	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
13	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux:pass	_	_
14	seized	seize	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	conj	_	_
15	with	with	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	impulse	impulse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	sympathetic	sympathetic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	admiration	admiration	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod	_	_
21	for	for	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	each	each	DET	DT	ExtPos=PRON|PronType=Rcp	14	obl	_	_
23	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **meet** | past | the two heroes | face |  |  |  | to face | vn meet-36.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent face=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **seize** | past · passive |  | both |  |  |  | with a impulse of sympathetic admiration; for each | vn steal-10.5 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: subject=Theme for each=Beneficiary |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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