1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
spent her last years in the disconsolate environs of a cheap boarding house
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2
as in unhappy
feeling unhappiness
she was utterly disconsolate when her best friend moved away
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Recent Examples of disconsolate
Last week, a moving van transported Andrew’s possessions from his home in Windsor’s Royal Lodge to a farm on the King’s Sandringham estate, after he was photographed, disconsolate, riding a horse.
—
Sam Knight, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026
Amby is disconsolate on the drive home.
—Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
As Wilshere and his players greeted the Norwich fans, across the Riverside pitch, Michael Carrick and his Middlesbrough squad were conducting a disconsolate lap of appreciation in a largely emptied stadium.
—Michael Walker, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025
After noticing disconsolate tourists wandering the perimeter, Taskinen proposed installing a café on the ground floor and restoring the building’s four spacious apartments into modest but comfortable rooms filled with Artek furniture.
—Michael Snyder, Travel + Leisure, 14 Apr. 2025
My father, disconsolate, would pace around what had once been their home in an exaggerated performance of his own uselessness.
—Hazlitt, 2 Apr. 2025
Outside, a disconsolate Santa presses his forehead against the building next door.
—Liam Sherwin-Murray, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
By the time the judge adjourned the court, Bryan was disconsolate.
—Michael Luo, The New Yorker, 29 July 2024
Context: Harris — who served as district attorney of San Francisco, as attorney general of California and as a U.S. senator from the state between 2017 and 2021 — could help electrify an exhausted, disconsolate party.
—Jacob Knutson, Axios, 22 July 2024
Sam Knight, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026
Amby is disconsolate on the drive home.
—Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
As Wilshere and his players greeted the Norwich fans, across the Riverside pitch, Michael Carrick and his Middlesbrough squad were conducting a disconsolate lap of appreciation in a largely emptied stadium.
—Michael Walker, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025
After noticing disconsolate tourists wandering the perimeter, Taskinen proposed installing a café on the ground floor and restoring the building’s four spacious apartments into modest but comfortable rooms filled with Artek furniture.
—Michael Snyder, Travel + Leisure, 14 Apr. 2025
My father, disconsolate, would pace around what had once been their home in an exaggerated performance of his own uselessness.
—Hazlitt, 2 Apr. 2025
Outside, a disconsolate Santa presses his forehead against the building next door.
—Liam Sherwin-Murray, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
By the time the judge adjourned the court, Bryan was disconsolate.
—Michael Luo, The New Yorker, 29 July 2024
Context: Harris — who served as district attorney of San Francisco, as attorney general of California and as a U.S. senator from the state between 2017 and 2021 — could help electrify an exhausted, disconsolate party.
—Jacob Knutson, Axios, 22 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disconsolate
Adjective
-
These events aren’t illuminating, and feel instead like a bleak betrayal.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
28 Feb. 2026
-
The outlook is bleak for Spurs.—
Graham Ruthven,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
With price pressures still bubbling in ways that have made consumers unhappy about affordability, economists are closely monitoring the impact of higher energy prices.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Unions, which were unhappy with the prospect of any industry consolidation may give Paramount a hard time and may not want to play ball.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That perspective was a lonely and isolating one.—
Nina Zipkin,
CNBC,
2 Mar. 2026
-
But ‘no writer worth his salt is even, or can be,’ Eudora Welty wrote, reviewing Salinger’s lonely nine in these pages.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Mendy Rendler, a longtime congregant, described the scene as a sad reminder that the congregation is displaced and not allowed to make repairs.—
Hannah Kliger,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Oooooofff, that is sad, my heart is breaking!—
Christina Grace Tucker,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
One day, one of the less depressing reminders of said past comes knocking in the form of an old Navy SEAL buddy, Calvin (Logan Marshall-Green, who’s evolved from Tom Hardy clone to Jon Bernthal lookalike).—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
-
But Funt’s writing about sports gambling’s ‘winners’ is almost as depressing as the look at its losers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Rent to pay Wongchingchai started to worry about the longevity of Thai Soon in 2025, when inflated ingredient prices, depressed sales, looming tax fees and lingering COVID-19 woes pushed her to borrow money from her uncle, her mom and her friends.—
Sarah Blaskovich,
Dallas Morning News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Her skull would incurred permanent damage, as it would have been distorted or depressed on the right side, as per the press release, which affected her appearance.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The mood in some corners of the Penguins locker room was somber on Wednesday.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
-
The nonprofit provides support to the Jewish community, and leaders reflected on the lifeline that assistance has meant to Odesa on the somber fourth anniversary of the conflict.—
Mike Hellgren,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That title follows the tragic story of British teenager Molly Russell, who was driven by social media to take her own life in 2017, and her heartbroken father’s quest to uncover the truth behind her death.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
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Savannah Guthrie and her heartbroken family are now offering a $1 million reward in hopes of receiving information about the whereabouts of their mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Tucson, Arizona, home nearly a month ago.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disconsolate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disconsolate. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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