inconsolable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inconsolable
1590–1600; < Latin inconsōlābilis. See in- 3, consolable ( def. )
Explanation
Someone inconsolable can't be comforted because they're extremely sad and despairing. To console someone is to comfort them with kind words, hugs, or otherwise. When someone is inconsolable, they’re so upset that all the words and hugs in the world are ineffective. An inconsolable person can't be consoled. People are inconsolable after horrible things happen, like the death of a family member or a friend. Some people are inconsolable after losing their jobs or suffering disappointments. If you're depressed, you could be inconsolable. This is a strong word for extreme sadness.
Vocabulary lists containing inconsolable
Refugee
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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The Book Thief
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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.
Even now, poring through his footage, desperately looking for clues, McElwee pines for that larger view — the one that might somehow bring the boy back to his inconsolable father.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
Several groups of young men looked utterly inconsolable.
From Barron's ● Jan. 1, 2026
Shakespeare offers what has become the defining portrait of this inconsolable experience in “King Lear.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2025
"I'm a slow reader but I read it cover to cover and I was crying. Completely inconsolable," says Andrea.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025
The white families swarmed in a camp off the main street, inconsolable and abject, the meager possessions they were able to save piled around their feet.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
