inconsolable

adjective

in·​con·​sol·​able ˌin-kən-ˈsō-lə-bəl 

: incapable of being consoled : disconsolate

inconsolableness noun

inconsolably

ˌin-kən-ˈsō-lə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms

• bad
• blue
• brokenhearted
• cast down
• crestfallen
• dejected
• depressed
• despondent
• disconsolate
• doleful
• down
• down in the mouth
• downcast
• downhearted
• droopy
• forlorn
• gloomy
• glum
• hangdog
• heartbroken
• heartsick
• heartsore
• heavyhearted
• joyless
• low
• low-spirited
• melancholic
• melancholy
• miserable
• mournful
• sad
• saddened
• sorrowful
• sorry
• unhappy
• woebegone
• woeful
• wretched

Examples of inconsolable in a Sentence

She was inconsolable when she learned that he had died.

he was inconsolable after the death of his wife

Recent Examples on the Web

Jackson was inconsolable on the drive home in 1988, convinced that the men didn’t believe her. —Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 12 May 2025

Practically inconsolable, Nate perked up when Frederick, older by two years, had a suggestion: Come play basketball with me instead. —Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025

In the fall of 1938, shortly after Germany annexed Czechoslovakia’s border regions, including the town where his family lived, 3-year-old Petr Wolfgang Löw cried at the train station, inconsolable. —Dina Kraft, Christian Science Monitor, 24 Apr. 2025

Cronenberg is transmitting to us from the borders of death, behind the enemy lines of inconsolable grief. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin inconsolabilis, from in- + consolabilis consolable

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for inconsolable

• controllable
• uncontrollable

Kids Definition

inconsolable

adjective

in·​con·​sol·​able ˌin-kən-ˈsō-lə-bəl 

: incapable of being comforted : disconsolate

inconsolably

-blē 

adverb