solace

[ sol-is ]

noun

1. comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or trouble; alleviation of distress or discomfort.
2. something that gives comfort, consolation, or relief:

   The minister's visit was the dying man's only solace.

verb (used with object)

, sol·aced, sol·ac·ing.

1. to comfort, console, or cheer (a person, oneself, the heart, etc.).
2. to alleviate or relieve (sorrow, distress, etc.).

solace

/ ˈsɒlɪs /

noun

1. comfort in misery, disappointment, etc
2. something that gives comfort or consolation

verb

1. to give comfort or cheer to (a person) in time of sorrow, distress, etc
2. to alleviate (sorrow, misery, etc)

Derived Forms

• ˈsolacer, noun

Other Words From

• solac·er noun
• un·solaced adjective
• un·solac·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of solace¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English solas, from Old French, from Latin sōlācium, equivalent to sōl (ārī) “to comfort” + -āc- adjective suffix + -ium -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of solace¹

C13: from Old French solas, from Latin sōlātium comfort, from sōlārī to console

Example Sentences

As 2020 continues to be unrelenting, I try my best to find the rare crumb of solace where I can.

From Washington Post

Perhaps more than therapy, writing also offered a kind of solace.

From Washington Post

Understanding that we’re one form of a molecular configuration among a sea of molecules that’s reforming and disambiguating, and reforming constantly, gives solace when I consider death.

From Nautilus

We are incredibly grateful that our plants offer that little bit of solace and joy via nature into the home.

From TechCrunch

So even as rituals are being disrupted and diluted, people are seeking new sources of solace.

From Science News

And there is definitely something to finding solace in food, familiarity, and memory.

From The Daily Beast

That had to give them an enormous reservoir of moral strength and solace.

From The Daily Beast

It is no small solace, no doubt, that Bloomberg has made both Winkler and Doctoroff millionaires several times over.

From The Daily Beast

Highway safety flares provided light as the clans joined by loss sought solace in prayer and song.

From The Daily Beast

The CDC, Fort Benning, and the solace of the prison all fail to give him the comfort of the past.

From The Daily Beast

Then we blotted out the fire, and, stretching ourselves on the ground, had recourse to the solace of tobacco.

From Project Gutenberg

Tobacco is less a fosterer of thought than a solace of mental vacuity.

From Project Gutenberg

Better postpone your solace to more fitting time and place—the close of day and your own veranda.

From Project Gutenberg

To the Indians and the Negroes, tobacco is almost the only solace in this transient life.

From Project Gutenberg

On the way to Church the pipe is lighted, and after service it is the solace of the evening hour.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• condolence
• consolation
• pity