CONCOCTION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does concoction mean? 

• CONCOCTION (noun)
  The noun CONCOCTION has 4 senses:

1. any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients

2. an occurrence of an unusual mixture

3. the invention of a scheme or story to suit some purpose

4. the act of creating something (a medicine or drink or soup etc.) by compounding or mixing a variety of components

  Familiarity information: CONCOCTION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONCOCTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

concoction; intermixture; mixture

Context example:

he drank a mixture of beer and lemonade

Hypernyms ("concoction" is a kind of...):

food product; foodstuff (a substance that can be used or prepared for use as food)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "concoction"):

mincemeat (spiced mixture of chopped raisins and apples and other ingredients with or without meat)

dressing; stuffing (a mixture of seasoned ingredients used to stuff meats and vegetables)

roux (a mixture of fat and flour heated and used as a basis for sauces)

batter (a liquid or semiliquid mixture, as of flour, eggs, and milk, used in cooking)

dough (a flour mixture stiff enough to knead or roll)

mix; premix (a commercially prepared mixture of dry ingredients)

filling (a food mixture used to fill pastry or sandwiches etc.)

Derivation:

concoct (prepare or cook by mixing ingredients)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An occurrence of an unusual mixture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

it suddenly spewed out a thick green concoction

Hypernyms ("concoction" is a kind of...):

mix; mixture (an event that combines things in a mixture)

Derivation:

concoct (make a concoction (of) by mixing)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The invention of a scheme or story to suit some purpose

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

she has no peer in the concoction of mystery stories

Hypernyms ("concoction" is a kind of...):

conception; design; excogitation; innovation; invention (the creation of something in the mind)

Derivation:

concoct (devise or invent)

concoct (invent)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The act of creating something (a medicine or drink or soup etc.) by compounding or mixing a variety of components

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

concoction; confection

Hypernyms ("concoction" is a kind of...):

creating from raw materials (the act of creating something that is different from the materials that went into it)

Derivation:

concoct (make a concoction (of) by mixing)

concoct (prepare or cook by mixing ingredients)

 Context examples 

After the laser blasts, the resulting concoction was analyzed to determine the amount of nitrates formed.

(Asteroids, Hydrogen Make Great Recipe for Life on Mars, NASA)

Few things could have been more to their liking than to give him a tow over the side, for to the forecastle he had sent messes and concoctions of the vilest order.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Six foot three in height, active as a squirrel, dexterous with his fingers, finally, remarkably quick-witted, for this whole ingenious story is of his concoction.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

New data from Chandra reveals 25 bright X-ray sources sprinkled throughout the Arp 299 concoction.

(Chandra Samples Galactic Goulash, NASA)

Might the whole story of the cataleptic Russian and his son be a concoction of Dr. Trevelyan’s, who has, for his own purposes, been in Blessington’s rooms?

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

By the time the lecture ended and the audience awoke, she had built up a splendid fortune for herself (not the first founded on paper), and was already deep in the concoction of her story, being unable to decide whether the duel should come before the elopement or after the murder.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The filth of his cooking was indescribable; and, as he cooked everything that was eaten aboard, I was compelled to select what I ate with great circumspection, choosing from the least dirty of his concoctions.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)