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I am using the word solicitude in a sentence. I am wondering if I can say

"For the girl, she started by expressing caring solicitudes of empathy."

The definition of solicitude is:

/səˈlisəˌt(y)o͞od/ noun noun: solicitude care or concern for someone or something.: "I was touched by his solicitude".

Would writing "caring solicitudes of empathy" be redundant? If it is, should I make it "empathetic solicitudes with care"?

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  • Have you considered your audience? What kind of people do you want to read this? To what kind of writing does it belong: journalism, poetry, prose fiction, psychology ... ?
    – Tuffy
    Commented Oct 31, 2020 at 8:35

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Yes, "caring solicitudes of empathy" would be redundant. So would "empathetic solicitudes with care." The latter would also be incorrect in treating solicitude as a count noun. It's a mass noun, like empathy.

If you say the girl began with expressions of solicitude, that conveys "care" and "empathy" sufficiently that those words add nothing. Likewise, "expressions of empathy" would include the idea of care and solicitude. Care is a less precise term than solicitude or empathy, so one of the latter two words is preferable. Using both would be redundant, using all three doubly so.

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