Empathy

noun

/ˈɛmpəθi/

The ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, and emotional states of another person, enabling one to perceive situations from their perspective.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

A welfare state cannot be administered by procedure alone; the truly responsive civil servant tempers statutory rigour with empathy, grasping the lived deprivation behind every file before disposing of it.

Synonyms

compassionfellow-feelingunderstandingsensitivitysympathyidentification

Antonyms

indifferenceapathycallousnessdetachment

🌱 Word Family

empathise (v), empathetic (adj), empathetically (adv), empathic (adj), empathiser (n)

🔡 Root

Greek empatheia = passion; en- = in; pathos = feeling; coined 1909 by Titchener to translate German Einfühlung

📜 Etymology

Coined by American psychologist Edward Bradford Titchener in 1909 to translate the German Einfühlung ("feeling into"), which was itself coined by philosopher Rudolf Lotze in 1858; derived from Greek empatheia ("passion"), combining en ("in") and pathos ("feeling").

🧠 Memory Hook

"em-PATH-y" = entering (em-, "in") another's PATH (Greek pathos, "feeling") — you walk in their feelings, not just beside them as in sympathy.

📝 Seen in UPSC Question Papers

Mains 2022 · GS4 · 10 marks — Ethics in Public Administration

Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Empathy” — proof this word earns its place on your list.

🧭 Ethics & Integrity 📖 Seen in: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude — Complet...

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