the body of members of an organization or group; "they polled their membership"; "they found dissension in their own ranks"; "he joined the ranks of the unemployed"
an inclination to support or be loyal to or to agree with an opinion; "his sympathies were always with the underdog"; "I knew I could count on his understanding"
sharing the feelings of others (especially feelings of sorrow or anguish)
a relation of affinity or harmony between people; whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other; "the two of them were in close sympathy"
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement; "he tried to express his sorrow at her loss"
sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment; "he drank to drown his sorrows"; "he wrote a note expressing his regret"; "to his rue, the error cost him the game"
(psychoanalysis) the process whereby emotions are passed on or displaced from one person to another; during psychoanalysis the displacement of feelings toward others (usually the parents) is onto the analyst
a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control; escape was usually taken as a sign of innocence