Condolences are an expression of sympathy to someone who has experienced grief arising from death, deep mental anguish, or misfortune.

When individuals condole, or offer their condolences to a particular situation or person, they are offering active, conscious support

Moral support

Moral support is a way of giving support to a person or cause, or to one side in a conflict, without making any contribution beyond the emotional or psychological value of the encouragement....

 of that person or activity. This is often expressed as a "sorry." Often, the English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 expression "my condolences" will be in a context, such as death

Death

Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....

 of a friend's loved one, in which the one offering condolences is communicating a feeling of pity

Pity

Pity originally means feeling for others, particularly feelings of sadness or sorrow, and was once used in a comparable sense to the more modern words "sympathy" and "empathy"...

towards the unfortunate party.

There are various ways of expressing condolences to the victims. Examples include donating money to the charity nominated by the person who has just died, writing in a condolences book or supporting the friends and family of the loved one by making meals and partially looking after them in times of need.