CONSOLATION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does consolation mean? 

• CONSOLATION (noun)
  The noun CONSOLATION has 2 senses:

1. the comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment

2. the act of consoling; giving relief in affliction

  Familiarity information: CONSOLATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONSOLATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

consolation; solace; solacement

Context example:

second place was no consolation to him

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

comfort (a feeling of freedom from worry or disappointment)

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

cold comfort (very limited consolation or empathy)

bright side; silver lining (a consoling aspect of a difficult situation)

Derivation:

console (give moral or emotional strength to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of consoling; giving relief in affliction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

comfort; consolation; solace

Context example:

his presence was a consolation to her

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

ministration; relief; succor; succour (assistance in time of difficulty)

Derivation:

console (give moral or emotional strength to)

 Context examples 

Her heart was sore and angry, and she was capable only of angry consolations.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

That is about the only bit of consolation I have had to-day.

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

This expectation will now be the consolation of your father.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Her resolution of refusal only grew more interesting by the addition of a scheme for his subsequent consolation and happiness.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

As he held Ruth in his arms and soothed her, he took great consolation in the thought that the Colonel's lady and Judy O'Grady were pretty much alike under their skins.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Mrs. Morland was not happy in her attempt at consolation.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

The girls couldn't help laughing, and felt better for it, though Meg shook her head at the young lady who could find consolation in a sugar bowl.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

This was all the consolation that her firmness administered to me.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Since landing from the boat he has obtained some consolation from the beauty and variety of the insect and bird life around him, for he is absolutely whole-hearted in his devotion to science.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

No—I have touched you, heard you, felt the comfort of your presence—the sweetness of your consolation: I cannot give up these joys.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)