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[Ruthk]

Hi everyone, I was going through an online platform of recent and this person used "condolence" as a form of sympathy for someone in a difficult situation (not dead). A lot of folks on the platform were saying it should only be used when someone dies.

How true is this?

[Rocco]

The word is often used when someone dies. Why not just sympathize or empathize with the person going through a difficult time?

[Urguy]

I disagree, it could also be used as a means of sympathy

According to the dictionary "Condolence" is an expression of sympathy, "especially" on the occasion of the death of a person's relative or close friend.

The word "especially" means more than usual and not something constant. So it could be used in other sympathetic situations as well.

That's my take.