Meaning & use
condoling
Last updated
“condoling” is a form of “condole”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
verbintransitive
Expressing sympathy to someone who has suffered a loss, especially a death.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by with: condole with the family. Much more formal than comfort.
Patterns
- condole with someone
- condole with the family
- condole over a loss
Neighbours gathered at the house, condoling with the widow.
The ambassador wrote condoling with the family on their terrible loss.
Word forms
| third person singular | condoles |
|---|---|
| past tense | condoled |
| past participle | condoled |
| -ing form | condoling |
Common combinations
- condole with the family
- Friends and colleagues came to condole with the family after the funeral.
- condole over a death
- Officials issued a statement condoling over the death of the former leader.
- condole with someone on their loss
- The principal wrote to each student, condoling with them on their loss.
Synonyms and how they differ
- comfort
- Comfort is the everyday word with a broader sense of easing sorrow; condole is restricted to formal expressions of sympathy after a death or loss.
- commiserate
- Commiserate means sharing sympathy over any misfortune, not only bereavement, and can be slightly less stiff than condole.
- sympathize
- Sympathize is general and followed by with; condole is narrower, formal, and tied to mourning.
Word family
- condolence noun
- An expression of sympathy, usually in the plural: my condolences.
- condolatory adjective
- Expressing condolence; very formal.
Commonly confused: condoling or console?
condoling vs console
Console also means to comfort someone, but it is the everyday verb with an object: console a friend. Condole is intransitive and always used with with.
Practice
The whole village came to ______ the grieving family.
Choose one answer.
Condole with someone is the correct formal pattern for expressing sympathy. The other options use verbs that cannot take this meaning or preposition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “condoling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.