Crossword Genius

Compassion? Mine’s ending in empathy (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pity

'compassion?' is the definition.
(pity is a kind of compassion)

'mine's ending in empathy' is the wordplay.
'mine' becomes 'pit' (down the pit**).
'ending in' indicates one should take the final letters.
The final letter of 'empathy' is 'y'.
'pit'+'y'='PITY'

(Other definitions for pity that I've seen before include "Crying shame" , "Cause for regret" , "Have sympathetic feelings toward" , "Sorrow for the misfortunes of others" , "true compassion?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.