Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DISCONSOLATE

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

connect today's word to others: Picture the disconsolate Charlie Brown, slumping along at a disconsolate pace, whining disconsolately: "Rats. Nobody sent me a Christmas card today. I almost wish there weren’t a holiday season. I know nobody likes me. Why do we have to have a holiday season to emphasize it?" More words that describe the sad, hopeless, dejected Charlie Brown include __spond___ (sad, hopeless, and depressed) and ____fallen (emotionally crushed, as if with the lower jaw hanging down). (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "DISCONSOLATE" From a Latin word meaning "soothe," solace is comfort or relief from grief or sadness. Something that consoles you gives you solace: it soothes you or cheers you up, bringing you comfort or relief. Something that disconsolates you does the opposite: it stresses you out or disheartens you. (Why is it "disconsolate" and not "disconsole"? I don't know! But we don't even use "disconsolate" as a verb anymore, so we don't have to worry about it.)  And so, disconsolate people and things are very sad: so sad that they can't even be comforted or cheered up by anything. Pronunciation: diss CON suh lutt Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a disconsolate frown" or "a disconsolate person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was disconsolate" or "He was disconsolate.") Other forms: disconsolating, disconsolately, disconsolation/disconsolateness How to use it: Talk about disconsolate people, faces, gestures, speech, writing, moods, and tones. ("Disconsolate" usually describes people and their actions in a certain moment, as they handle a certain disappointing situation. It doesn't describe people's overall personalities.) Although "disconsolate" usually describes sad people (and the things people do to reveal their sadness), it can also describe things that cause sadness or are filled with sadness. So we can talk about disconsolate images and scenes, disconsolate hours and months, disconsolate ennui and monotony, etc.  Not only can we call things disconsolate, meaning they make us sad, but we can also personify things by calling them disconsolate--saying they are sad. Here's Agnes Sanford: "The kitchen was floored with a disconsolate brown linoleum that showed every spot." examples: Inside Cooper Hall, that nondescript brick rectangle sagging with age, freshmen filed in for their introductory classes, their excited chatter filling the otherwise disconsolate gray cinder-block halls. "He looks at his wand—disconsolate, unsure why it hasn’t worked."    — J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, 2016 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "disconsolate" without saying "too sad to be comforted" or "too blue to be cheered up." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "The camera focuses on (someone)'s disconsolate face as (something happens)." Example: "The camera focuses on Lorelei's disconsolate face as she realizes she can't pay her daughter's tuition." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Complete the Clichés! In each issue this month, I'll present a general theme and a handful of common expressions that apply to it--but only the first few words of each expression. See if you can complete them!  To keep things interesting, I've picked a mixture of phrases both new and familiar to me. I hope some will pique your curiosity and inspire you to Google them for their meanings and backstories. (Please try that first, and if your search turns up empty, email me for help.) If you're playing this game with the kids in your family or your class, you might enjoy talking together about what the phrases mean. Enjoy! In the previous issue, the theme was "good advice:" A. Forewarned... B. Beware of Greeks... C. Keep a stiff... D. Make hay... E. There's no defense... Answers: A. Forewarned is forearmed B. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts C. Keep a stiff upper lip D. Make hay while the sun shines E. There's no defense like a good offense Try these today. The theme is "good ideas:" A. Cut the coat... B. Heap coals of... C. Hitch your... D. Improve each... review today's word: 1. A close opposite of DISCONSOLATE is A. GUILELESS. B. INCIPIENT. C. JOCUND. 2. To open the scene, the dancers _____ onto the stage, their _____ disconsolately. A. glide .. heads lowered B. leap .. costumes shimmering C. shuffle .. eyes gleaming furtively and Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A