What does congeal mean?
Word: Congeal
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Congeal means to turn thick or solid, usually as a liquid cools.
Synonyms: set
How do you spell congeal?
Syllables: con - geal
Tricky part: The end rhymes with feel, but it is not spelt that way: a vowel pair, ea, writes the sound, and pupils put congeel.
Watch out for: congeel, congele
Memory tip: Congeal and conceal differ by one consonant only, so use whatever you know about the ending of conceal.
Congeal in a sentence
Example 1: The melted cheese began to congeal on the pizza while we waited for Dad.
Example 2: Candle wax will congeal in a pool at the base of the holder.
Example 3: Wipe the pan quickly, before the oil can congeal.
Fun Fact
Its Latin source means to freeze together, and the same family of words gave us jelly, which also sets as it cools.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word congealed as used in the sentence:
The leftover fat in the pan had congealed by the time we came to wash up.
a) melted
b) stiffened
c) thickened
d) hardened
Show answer
a) melted. Melting turns a solid into a liquid, the reverse of what happened in the pan.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
If you leave the hot chocolate sauce on the cold kitchen shelf, it will soon conjeal and refuse to pour.
a) chocolate
b) refuse
c) kitchen
d) conjeal
Show answer
d) conjeal. The soft sound in the middle is written with the same letter as in gentle.
Mingle-Mangle
The sentence contains a jumbled word. Choose the word it hides:
Cold porridge will egclona into a stiff lump if you leave it in the pot.
a) congest
b) conceal
c) congeal
d) consume
Show answer
c) congeal. A g and an l are both in the jumble, and they appear together in one verb here.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. condence 2. congeal 3. disolve 4. evaperate
a) to mix into a liquid and disappear
b) to change from a gas into a liquid
c) to change from a liquid into a gas
d) to go from runny to firm
Show answer
d) to go from runny to firm. Evaporate has an o after the p, condense ends in nse, and dissolve has a double s.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which food is most likely to do this if left out on a table?
a) a plate of sliced fruit
b) a glass of cold water
c) a bowl of thick gravy
d) a packet of dry biscuits
Show answer
c) a bowl of thick gravy
2. A cook complains that her sauce has done this. What has she most likely done wrong?
a) added too much salt to it
b) left it too long off the heat
c) poured it into a blue jug
d) stirred it with a fork
Show answer
b) left it too long off the heat
