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Synonyms

consoling

American  
[kuhn-soh-ling] / kənˈsoʊ lɪŋ /

adjective

  1. alleviating or lessening grief, sorrow, or disappointment; giving comfort.

    He gave his companion a consoling clap on the shoulder.

    The consoling power of the book arises not so much from the humor as from the detail with which the author renders his world.

Other Word Forms

  • consolingly adverb
  • nonconsoling adjective
  • nonconsolingly adverb
  • self-consoling adjective
  • unconsoling adjective
  • unconsolingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of consoling

consol(e) 1 ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Chomsky, now 97, was hardly the only famous associate who was privately consoling Epstein or giving him advice to rehabilitate his public image.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

He claimed that he began consoling a crying Minaj, only for her to start yelling at him.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 1, 2025

Our episode didn’t capture scenes of us consoling the oldest when his night terrors returned or taking calls from school on shoot days when the youngest begged to come home.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2025

This final turn is less consoling or condemnatory than darkly revealing about our assumptions about Michaela, who's portrayed as a controlling fury for most of the story.

From Salon • Jun. 5, 2025

Alba would come running to embrace her with consoling whispers, since they both knew from long experience that the only cure for asthma is the prolonged embrace of a loved one.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.