Commensurate vs. Commiserate

The adjective commensurate, which means “proportionate; corresponding in amount or degree” can be used with either with or to:

punishment commensurate with/to the crime
salary commensurate with/to my value to the company

Don’t confuse commensurate with commiserate, a verb meaning “to sympathize” or “to express sorrow for”:

commiserated with him over his string of bad luck, hoping to make him feel better

Commiserate has the same root as the word misery, so think of its meaning as “to share in someone’s misery.”