consolatory
- adjective
- /ˌkɒn.səˈleɪ.tɔːr.i/
- The teacher provided consolatory remarks to the students who didn’t win the competition, encouraging them to try again next year.
Examples
-
U.S. Navy Rigid Airships 1919-1935 take on a consolatory function: they exist to reconcile desire with the fact of tragedy.
Academic text (1994) -
The Heart-to-Heart Art Troupe from CNN went to the disaster-hit area and gave consolatory performances.
Blog text (31) -
"Here, movingly, is the not quite convincing consolatory voice of the Origin.
Academic text (1995) -
We had even been denied the consolatory dramas of heavy rain or a snowstorm.
Fiction book (2001) -
In its place, there have been stoicism and resignation, the great anodynes of humanity, and visions of an afterlife, its great consolatory fantasy.
Academic text (1992) -
After the loss of her pet, her friend offered consolatory words to help her cope with the sadness.
-
He sent a consolatory message after hearing about her difficult breakup, hoping to make her feel a little better.
Synonyms
Making someone feel less worried or upset
Giving comfort to someone who is sad or upset
Showing sympathy to someone who feels sad or has trouble
Antonyms
How Consoling
Surface Forms
Morphology
consolatory = console (semi-transparent) = consol + atory
The word is clearly related to consolation and comfort, but it uses a Latinate stem and a learned adjective-forming suffix, so the connection is not fully transparent to an average learner.
Etymology
Consolatory comes from the Latin parts con- 'together' and solari 'to comfort', and it is the same root as consolation and console. So a consolatory gift or word is one meant to bring comfort and soothe someone who is sad.