Synonyms: pity, compassion, commiseration, sympathy, condolence, empathy

These nouns signify kindly concern aroused by the misfortune, affliction, or suffering of another. 

• Pity often implies a feeling of sorrow that inclines one to help or to show mercy: felt pity for the outcast. 
• Compassion denotes deep awareness of the suffering of another and the wish to relieve it: "Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism" Hubert H. Humphrey. 
• Commiseration signifies the expression of pity or sorrow: expressed their commiseration over the failure of the experiment. 
• Sympathy denotes the act of or capacity for sharing in the sorrows or troubles of another: "They had little sympathy to spare for their unfortunate enemies" William Hickling Prescott. 
• Condolence is a formal, conventional expression of pity, usually to relatives upon a death: extending condolences to the bereaved family. 
• Empathy is an identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives: Having changed schools several times as a child, I feel empathy for the transfer students.

... Am-Heritage