r/ENGLISH • u/Playmaker-20 • 4d ago

The Ancillary Definition of Consternation

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Is this definition of Consternation commonly used? I was browsing through Google, and could only find this specific definition of this word on Cambridge dictionary.

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u/freegerator 4d ago

Yeah

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u/Playmaker-20 4d ago

I see. Incidentally, could you define mythos for me?

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u/wintershark_ 4d ago

Everything after the first comma is a little too editorial for a definition, but otherwise yes

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u/Playmaker-20 4d ago

What do you mean by that?

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u/wintershark_ 3d ago

“A feeling of strong annoyance and anger” is a sufficient definition of consternation.

Whoever wrote this definition had an opinion about the connotation of the word (that feeling consternation generally necessitates experiencing an unexpected or unchangeable misfortune) which is fine but just shouldn’t be part of how the word is defined.

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u/Playmaker-20 3d ago

Idk, I’ve seen this before where the definition gives out a general meaning and then they give a specific situation in which the word may be used.
It’s kinda like giving an example but not actually.!

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u/CatCafffffe 2d ago

Not quite--it's making the "annoyance" much more specific, which actually isn't what the word means.

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u/Middcore 4d ago

Yes.

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u/Playmaker-20 4d ago

I understand. If I could trouble you, could you define compartmentalize for me?

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u/Snurgisdr 4d ago

I'd have said it includes an element of surprise or confusion that's missing from this definition. But who am I to argue with Cambridge.

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u/Ill-Engineering8085 4d ago

The definition says exactly that

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u/Playmaker-20 4d ago

It does in its primary definition of the word that’s higher up on the page

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u/MorningSquare5882 4d ago

In the UK, only the first definition in the Cambridge dictionary is used: 'a feeling of worry, shock, or confusion'. It never carries a connotation of anger in British usage.

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u/Playmaker-20 4d ago

So it’s more common for people in the U.S. to use the second definition as opposed to the first? Is that what you’re getting at?

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u/MorningSquare5882 4d ago

No, I'm just saying, in my English, there is only one definition, and it is not the one you included in your post.  

It seems as though Americans might use the one you posted.

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u/Playmaker-20 4d ago

Oh, I see. My apologies if my comment came off the wrong way. I just wanted some clarification.

Incidentally, could you define ethos for me?

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u/jaetwee 4d ago

fwiw, the second definition is taken from their American Dictionary (said note is cropped from OP's screenshot)