Basic Details
Word: Consolation
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Comfort or cheer that makes a sad or disappointing time a little easier to bear, or the thing that gives that comfort.
Synonyms: comfort, solace, relief, reassurance
Antonyms: distress, discouragement
How to Spell Consolation
Syllables: con - so - la - tion
Tricky part: The second vowel is o, as in console. Because the stress falls on la, that o sounds like a weak uh, and students write consalation or consilation.
Watch out for: consalation, consilation, consolasion
Memory tip: You console a friend who has lost a match. Keep cons-o-l from console, drop its e and add ation.
Idioms and Phrases
- small consolation: something that makes a bad situation only slightly better Example: "Finishing the race was small consolation after he tripped at the last hurdle."
Usage Examples
Example 1: The runner-up in the quiz got a consolation prize of two storybooks.
Example 2: Her grandmother's weekly letters were a real consolation during her first term at boarding school.
Example 3: Rain washed out the picnic; the only consolation was a plate of hot pakoras at home.
Fun Fact
Around the year 524, while in prison awaiting execution, the Roman thinker Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy, one of the most widely read books of medieval Europe.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Losing the final was hard, but the warm applause from the stands was some nolocsaiton to the tired players.
a) constellation
b) consolation
c) consultation
d) conciliation
Show answer
b) consolation. Only consolation uses all eleven letters exactly; consultation and constellation each need letters that are not there.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is not. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. determination 2. consolasion 3. recommendation 4. inspiration
a) firmness in keeping on towards a goal despite difficulty
b) comfort given to someone who is sad or disappointed
c) something that fills a person with the urge to create or achieve
d) a suggestion that something is good or suitable
Show answer
b) comfort given to someone who is sad or disappointed. Consolasion is wrong; like determination and inspiration, the word ends in tion.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct set of letters to form a word:
c_ns_l_tion
a) o, o, e
b) o, u, a
c) o, o, a
d) a, o, a
Show answer
c) o, o, a. Every vowel before tion here is o except the last, which is a: con-so-la-tion.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these would most likely be called a consolation prize?
a) a fine for breaking a rule
b) the trophy for the champion
c) a ticket to enter the stadium
d) a gift for a player who did not win
Show answer
d) a gift for a player who did not win
2. To offer consolation is to ____ someone.
a) comfort
b) warn
c) scold
d) thank
Show answer
a) comfort
