consummate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to bring to a state of perfection; fulfill.
- Synonyms:
- achieve, accomplish, finish, perfect, complete
-
to complete (an arrangement, agreement, or the like) by a pledge or the signing of a contract.
The company consummated its deal to buy a smaller firm.
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to complete (the union of a marriage) by the first marital sexual intercourse.
adjective
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complete or perfect; supremely skilled; superb.
a consummate master of the violin.
- Antonyms:
- unfinished, imperfect
-
being of the highest or most extreme degree.
a work of consummate skill; an act of consummate savagery.
verb
-
to bring to completion or perfection; fulfil
-
to complete (a marriage) legally by sexual intercourse
adjective
-
accomplished or supremely skilled
a consummate artist
-
(prenominal) (intensifier)
a consummate fool
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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consummationnoun
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consummatornoun
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consummativeadjective
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consummatoryadjective
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half-consummatedadjective
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unconsummateadjective
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unconsummatedadjective
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unconsummativeadjective
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consummatelyadverb
-
unconsummatelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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consummatesimple
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consummatessimple
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have consummatedperfect
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has consummatedperfect
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am consummatingprogressive
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are consummatingprogressive
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is consummatingprogressive
-
have been consummatingperfect progressive
-
has been consummatingperfect progressive
Past
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consummatedsimple
-
had consummatedperfect
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was consummatingprogressive
-
were consummatingprogressive
-
had been consummatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of consummate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (adjective), from Latin consummātus “completed,” past participle of consummāre “to complete, bring to perfection,” from con- con- + summ(a) sum + -āre, infinitive verb suffix
Explanation
Consummate means complete, finished, or masterful. If you refer to someone as a consummate chef, then you are saying he is the ultimate chef. If you say someone is a consummate jerk, then you are saying he is the ultimate jerk. Consummate can be used to describe something good or bad: consummate joy, a consummate liar. To consummate means to bring something to completion, but it often refers specifically to making a marriage complete by having sexual relations. The adjective is pronounced KÄN-sə-mit, but the verb is pronounced KÄN-sə-māt.
Vocabulary lists containing consummate
The Book Thief
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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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.
See Examples For:
Neill was a consummate character actor, hard-working and driven by a love for his craft, with a filmography spanning decades and roles that touched countless lives.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
My husband, consummate family man, was born to be a grandfather.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
They described the mother as "intelligent, confident, a consummate professional" and praised her devotion to her family.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Luke’s piece tells the story of Mike Love, 85, the last remaining member of one of the 20th century’s consummate pop acts, while also reflecting on nostalgia, bitterness, legacy, and mortality.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026
War Relic displayed cherubic behavior, grabbed the lead out of the gate, and never relinquished it, winning with consummate ease.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Yet the secret genius of "Your Love" is that the song never directly spells out whether the narrator consummates his crush in real life; we only get one side of the story.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2023
With “Part II,” Hogg consummates a sweeping, inward-looking masterwork, one that reexamines and in certain cases amends reality, the likes of which few filmmakers reach in their careers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2022
Most times, the ritual is all sound and fury and consummates its purpose without any actual violence.
From Newsweek ● Sep. 9, 2013
A true woman is "Like the keystone to an arch That consummates all beauty: She's like the music to a march That sheds a joy on duty."
From Stray Thoughts for Girls by Soulsby, Lucy H. M.
Thus finding utterance as the prophet of God, he consummates his mission and takes his place in the world order.
From The Enjoyment of Art by Noyes, Carleton Eldredge
"This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all Nato Nations," he wrote.
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026
In an age when every middle-class household could afford a few hearth gods, the superior collector consummated his passion for beauty against the “prevailing winds of progress, fashion, democracy, money, and modernity.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
If a deal were consummated, Sony would control a significant majority stake in Paramount, according to two people familiar with the discussions but who were not authorized to speak publicly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2024
If it’s consummated, the deal would reverse Boeing’s largest outsourcing move after nearly 20 years, allowing the aerospace giant to tighten oversight of its most important parts provider.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
The whole proceedings were illegal, and the illegality was consummated by the prisoners being brought before a Oldenbarneveldt executed. special tribunal of 24 judges, nearly all of whom were personal enemies of the accused.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5 "Hinduism" to "Home, Earls of" by Various
Neither side, fresh off rekindling their flame and consummating a marriage forged in the fires of mutual arrogance, could have foreseen the turbulence to come.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2023
The agency asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals late on Thursday to require the companies to delay consummating the transaction while the court considered the FTC's broader appeal.
From Reuters ● Jul. 14, 2023
Instead of consummating the transaction, though, the girl collapses on the bed, exhausted from caring for her siblings and working at a button factory.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
According to multiple reports, the Mavericks consulted Doncic before consummating the Irving trade.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2023
Before leaving he was entirely released and requested by Lord Shelburne to hasten home to assist in consummating a peace.
From Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution by Judson, L. Carroll
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.
