What does sympathetic mean?

If you are being sympathetic to someone, you are being nice to them by showing that you understand their feelings.

It is often used in the context of a negative experience (e.g., “He was very kind and sympathetic when I told him my bad news”) and belongs to the same word family as the noun sympathy.

Sympathy and empathy overlap in meaning and can often be used as synonyms.

Read this FAQ: What does sympathetic mean?

What does empathetic mean?

If you are empathetic then you have empathy, which is the ability to share or understand other people’s emotions because you can imagine how you would feel in other people’s situations (e.g., “She was very empathetic when I told her about my problems”).

Empathy and sympathy overlap in meaning and can often be used as synonyms.

Read this FAQ: What does empathetic mean?

Is it nation’s capital or capitol?

The principal city of a country or state is known as the capital city (e.g., “Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya”). The building where the legislatures meet is sometimes called the capitol (e.g., “Honolulu’s capitol is one of the more unusual legislative buildings in the USA”).

Not every legislative building is called a capitol; for instance in the UK it is called the Houses of Parliament, and when the two houses of the French parliament meet together, they do so at the Palace of Versailles.

When referring to the meeting place for the US Congress, Capitol has an uppercase “C.”

Use Quillbot’s free grammar checker to ensure you use capital or capitol correctly!

Read this FAQ: Is it nation’s capital or capitol?

Is it state capital or capitol?

When you are talking about the principal city in a state, then the word you want is capital (e.g., “Providence is the capital of Rhode Island”). The building in the capital city where the legislature meets is the capitol (e.g., “Alaska’s capitol in Juneau is rather underwhelming”).

In Washington, D.C., the US Capitol is given an uppercase “C.”

Use Quillbot’s free grammar checker to ensure you use capital or capitol correctly!

Read this FAQ: Is it state capital or capitol?

What does besides that mean?

“Besides that” (with an “s”) is a phrase that means “other than that” (e.g., “I know you want to swim, but is there anything you hope to do besides that?”).

Remember, “beside” (without an “s”) functions as a preposition that means “next to.” When someone says, “beside that,” as in “can you place the book beside that,” they are asking for you to place the book next to something else.

Use Quillbot’s free grammar checker to avoid mistakes!

Read this FAQ: What does besides that mean?