commiserate

verb

com·​mis·​er·​ate kə-ˈmi-zə-ˌrāt How to pronounce commiserate (audio)
commiserated; commiserating

intransitive verb

: to feel or express sympathy : condole
commiserates with them on their loss

transitive verb

: to feel or express sorrow or compassion for
commiseratingly adverb
commiseration noun
commiserative adjective

Examples of commiserate in a Sentence

"Did you enjoy your breakfast?" "The eggs were runny." "I know." The woman commiserated. "I was thinking, I should just have barged into the kitchen and done them myself." Alice Munro, Runaway, (2004) 2005
The other potters seemed to slump as one into dejection, all but abandoning their work in favor of long, lugubrious visits to the wine shop, where they commiserated with one another. Linda Sue Park, A Single Shard, (2001) 2003
"I been readin' about it," she said, referring to the recent breakup of my marriage.  … "It's too bad," she commiserated. Arthur Miller, Timebends, 1987
The pain of losing is diverting. So is the thrill of winning. Winning, however, is lonelier, because those you've taken money from are not apt to commiserate with you. David Mamet, New York Times Magazine, 20 Apr. 1986
The players commiserated over their loss in the championship game.
Recent Examples on the Web This inspired her venture, Bossy and Blissful, a collective for Black female executives to commiserate and coach each other on how to deal with misogynoir, a specific type of misogyny experienced by Black women, or being the only person of color in the C-suite. Terry Tang, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024 Election conspiracies: On two occasions every year, the top election officials from most states gather to commiserate and share nonpartisan advice. Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 22 Feb. 2024 Passers-by stopped to commiserate with him and to try to lift his spirits. Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 Counterintuitively, teams that performed poorly in the win-loss department had committed fans who reported better social life satisfaction — perhaps from commiserating on what is wrong with their team. Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, 19 Jan. 2024 And no one wastes time commiserating over in-office woes. Jenny Alvermann, Twin Cities, 9 Feb. 2024 Instead, Mendez makes Mary the glue that holds these friendships together, vacillating between placating the egotistical Frank, yearning over her character's unrequited love for Frank, and later commiserating with Charley about Frank. Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 10 Oct. 2023 At a panel featuring first-time filmmakers, Mr. Wang commiserated with other newcomers about to unveil their movies. Nicole Sperling Joel Barhamand, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024 Teigen, 38, also commiserated with her Chrissy & Dave Dine Out partner and the talk show host. Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'commiserate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin commiseratus, past participle of commiserari, from com- + miserari to pity, from miser wretched

First Known Use

circa 1584, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of commiserate was circa 1584

Dictionary Entries Near commiserate

Cite this Entry

“Commiserate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commiserate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

commiserate

verb
com·​mis·​er·​ate kə-ˈmiz-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce commiserate (audio)
commiserated; commiserating
: to feel or express sorrow or sympathy : sympathize
commiseration noun

More from Merriam-Webster on commiserate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!