Sign In Get Started
Preposition after adjective

Compassionate to or compassionate towards?

Compassionate towards is the standard and more natural pattern. Compassionate to appears occasionally but is less common and often sounds awkward.

Quick answer

Which preposition follows compassionate?

Use compassionate towards or compassionate toward in American English. Compassionate to is uncommon and usually replaced by towards.

She was compassionate towards refugees.
The doctor remained compassionate toward anxious patients.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
compassionate towards + person/group

Showing sympathy or care

Use towards or toward for people, animals, or groups receiving compassion.

He is always compassionate towards elderly neighbours
The organisation is compassionate toward victims of conflict
2
compassionate about + issue

Caring deeply about a topic

About can introduce the issue that someone cares strongly about.

She is compassionate about animal welfare
They are compassionate about mental health support

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
compassionate towards
The nurse was compassionate towards every patient.
Standard and natural way to express sympathy or care.
compassionate to
Compassionate to is less natural in current English.
Usually avoided in favour of compassionate towards or toward.
compassionate toward
He remained compassionate toward his colleagues.
Common American English variant of towards.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using compassionate to in formal writing

Towards or toward sounds more natural and standard.

✕ She was compassionate to the injured workers. ✓ She was compassionate towards the injured workers.

Using with instead of towards

Compassionate is not usually followed by with.

✕ They were compassionate with the refugees. ✓ They were compassionate towards the refugees.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The teacher was very ___ struggling students.
2. He felt deeply ___ environmental issues.
3. Which form is more common in American English?

Check your sentence in context

Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.

Free to try · No signup required

Frequently asked questions

Is compassionate to incorrect?

It is not impossible, but it is much less natural than compassionate towards or toward.

What is the difference between toward and towards?

They mean the same thing. Toward is more common in American English.

Can compassionate describe feelings about issues?

Yes. You can say compassionate about social or humanitarian issues.

calm, in, calm, for, calm, about "candid about" or "candid in"? capable of or in? careful about, with, of, in or on? careless about, with, in, of or on? caribbean in, for, with, to or on? "catastrophic for" or "catastrophic to"? "cautious about" or "cautious in"? celtic in, for, on, at or to? central to, in, for, at or of? "certain of" or "certain about"? "challenging for" or "challenging of"?

Write with confidence in Linguix

Create a free account to check complete texts, apply suggestions, and save your documents.

Create a free account