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.
-
to complete (the union of a marriage) by the first marital sexual intercourse.
adjective
-
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
- consummately adverb
- consummation noun
- consummative adjective
- consummator noun
- consummatory adjective
- half-consummated adjective
- unconsummate adjective
- unconsummated adjective
- unconsummately adverb
- unconsummative adjective
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
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.
Mueller is a "consummate professional and a straight shooter," then-FBI chief Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee, said in July 2019.
From Barron's • Mar. 21, 2026
Not that that would be a tough thing to ascertain in the first place, given Poehler’s consummate preparation.
From Salon • Jan. 16, 2026
And in sequences in a film within the film alongside Jennifer Lopez, a consummate entertainer here, Tonatiuh transforms into a stylish, closeted man orbiting Lopez’s fictional screen diva Ingrid Luna.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025
Fred Allen, the consummate radio comedian, called television a “medium,” to which he added that nothing about it is “well-done.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
He had a keen mind, and a consummate poker face.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
