Passion vs Compassion? What’s the difference?

Vocabulary / By

There is a difference between having a passion for something and compassion for something.

To have passion for something that you care about in terms of how it affects you and your life. To have compassion for something means that you care about how the thing is affected regardless of what is in it for you.

It is easy to conflate the meanings of passion and compassion, but keep reading to learn more about the difference.

What Does it Mean to Have Passion?

The word “passion” is a verb, which is an action word. Passion is a love of something that directly affects you.

If you are a writer, you could have a passion for storytelling. If you are a musician, you could have a passion for creating music.

How to Use “Passion” in a Sentence

You usually reserve the act of having a passion for something that specifically affects your well-being.

If you were to express your passion for something, you would say that you “have a passion for” or that you are “passionate about” something.

Example:

Timothy is passionate about breeding dogs.
Stacey has a passion for writing African-themed short stories.
Notice that in both examples, the subject has a passion for doing something, not just an abstract love with no action.

What Does it Mean to Have Compassion?

To have compassion for someone or something means that you literally care about that person or thing’s well-being even though there is no benefit to you.

How to Use “Compassion” in a Sentence

While you have passion for something that you are doing, you show compassion to someone or something else.

In a sentence, you can express your compassion for something by saying you “have compassion for,” you “are compassionate toward,” or you “show compassion to” something or someone else.

Example:

Sarah is compassionate towards the homeless, so she volunteers at the soup kitchen twice a week.
Matthew shows compassion to the falsely accused by often working pro bono cases.

Notice that the subjects feel pity toward something or someone that drives them to act for the betterment of themselves.

Final Thoughts

The difference between passion and compassion is the difference between looking inward and looking out.

When you have a passion for doing something, you feel strongly about the act of doing something that you love.

On the contrary, when you have compassion, you feel strongly about the act of helping others whether or not it is mutually beneficial to you in any way.

Conor
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