Definitions of sympathetic:

• adjective:   expressing or feeling or resulting from sympathy or compassion or friendly fellow feelings; disposed toward

  Example: "Sympathetic to the students' cause"

• adjective:   (of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings

  Example: "The sympathetic characters in the play"

• adjective:   of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system

  Example: "Sympathetic neurons"

• adjective:   having similar disposition and tastes

  Example: "With their many similar tastes, he found her a most sympathetic companion"

• adjective:   relating to vibrations that occur as a result of vibrations in a nearby body

  Example: "Sympathetic vibration"

• adjective:   showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity

  Example: "Sympathetic words"