POSITIVE TRAIT THESAURUS

EMPATHETIC



Never struggle with Show-and-Tell again. Activate your free trial or subscribe to view the Positive Trait Thesaurus in its entirety, or visit the Table of Contents to explore unlocked entries.

CHOOSE MY PLAN

HELPFUL TIP:

Characters with this positive attribute will be extra sensitive to certain emotions, so think about how events might specifically trigger feelings in a way that elevates or lowers their moods or causes moral dilemmas to form—whichever best fits your story goals. Try giving a supporting character a negative trait that acts as an opposite of this attribute, causing frustration, disillusionment, or even emotional volatility that leads to poor decisions and mistakes.
DEFINITION:
Able to recognize and identify with the emotions of others

SIMILAR ATTRIBUTES:
Sensitive, understanding

POSSIBLE CAUSES:
Being deeply attuned to emotion
Having heightened intuition
Being strongly self-aware
Feeling in sync with the energy of other people
Having a compassionate nature
Being taught the importance of love and compassion at a young age

ASSOCIATED BEHAVIORS AND ATTITUDES:
Being highly sympathetic
Experiencing another's emotion as if it was one's own
Having a strong connection to other people
Trustworthiness and honesty
Having a quiet, contemplative nature
Being genuine; showing an interest in others
Influencing the attitudes of others by projecting certain feelings and moods
Being sensitive to the emotional pain of others
Offering comfort when it is needed
Listening actively
Enjoying working with animals or being around them
Heightened awareness of expression through body language and voice tone
Being able to sense “fake” emotions
Seeing past actions and words to discern the truth
Being altruistic
Finding it difficult to put one's needs first
Reluctance to share emotions too fully for fear of being overwhelmed
...

ASSOCIATED THOUGHTS:
...

ASSOCIATED EMOTIONS:
...

POSITIVE ASPECTS:
...

NEGATIVE ASPECTS:
...

EXAMPLE FROM FILM:
...

CHALLENGING SCENARIOS FOR CHARACTERS WITH THIS TRAIT:
...

TRAITS IN SUPPORTING CHARACTERS THAT MAY CAUSE CONFLICT:
...