Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or an instance of consoling.
  • noun The state of being consoled.
  • noun One that consoles; a comfort.
  • noun Sports A second, smaller tournament or round of play for participants who have been eliminated before the final of a tournament, often to determine third and fourth place.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Alleviation of misery or distress of mind; mitigation of grief or anxiety; an imparting or receiving of mental relief or comfort; solace: as, to administer consolation to the afflicted; to find consolation in religion or philosophy, or in selfish indulgence.
  • noun That which consoles, comforts, or cheers the mind; the cause of being consoled.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of consoling; the state of being consoled; allevation of misery or distress of mind; refreshment of spirit; comfort; that which consoles or comforts the spirit.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The act of consoling.
  • noun The prize or benefit for the loser.
  • noun sports A consolation goal

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of consoling; giving relief in affliction
  • noun the comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Their main consolation is that they expect injured stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler to return before the postseason.

    USATODAY.com 2007

  • The main consolation is that no one at the wedding is even going to look atg me, so there is no point even caring.

    Balloon Juice » 2004 » November 2004

  • Sanford sent Palin what he called a consolation prize-sized portion of shrimp, grits and She-Crab soup from a Charleston restaurant.

    unknown title 2009

  • What kind of consolation is that for the 50 million Americans who have lost their homes or are struggling to pay off mortgages that are "underwater"?

    Robert Scheer: Payback at the Polls Robert Scheer 2010

  • What kind of consolation is that for the 50 million Americans who have lost their homes or are struggling to pay off mortgages that are "underwater"?

    Robert Scheer: Payback at the Polls Robert Scheer 2010

  • What kind of consolation is that for the 50 million Americans who have lost their homes or are struggling to pay off mortgages that are "underwater"?

    Robert Scheer: Payback at the Polls Robert Scheer 2010

  • "That is just it," returned du Portail; "the poor wretch was in love with that casket; so that when, shortly after, I entered his room and told him I knew all, he proposed to me to leave him the life use of what he called the consolation of his old age, pledging himself to make Mademoiselle de la Peyrade his sole heir, revealing to me at the same time the existence of a hoard of gold (to which he was adding every day), and also the possession of a house and an investment in the Funds."

    The Lesser Bourgeoisie Honor�� de Balzac 1824

  • That may sound like thin consolation for a party whose recent trend line looks a lot like the Dow: Not quite as reviled as we were in the aftermath of Watergate?

    Glass Half Full, Glass Half Empty 2009

  • The consolation is that it finally gives her the attention she has been craving and feels she deserves.

    Top 10 Movie Cougars » Scene-Stealers 2009

  • The consolation is that Blair was tormented by the encounters.

    Ed Miliband draws first blood at PMQs Rafael Behr 2010

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