Meaning & use
consummate learner
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableformal
A person who is extremely skilled and completely devoted to learning.
Grammar: Countable: 'a consummate learner', 'consummate learners'. The adjective 'consummate' comes before the noun.
Patterns
- a consummate learner of something
- become a consummate learner
After thirty years of night classes, she had become a consummate learner.
He is a consummate learner who reads a new field every summer.
The program aims to turn curious students into consummate learners.
Word forms
| plural | consummate learners |
|---|
Common combinations
- a consummate professional
- The chef is a consummate professional who never serves a rushed dish.
- a consummate skill
- Negotiating calmly is a consummate skill that takes years to master.
- a consummate performer
- She is a consummate performer, at ease on any stage.
- become a consummate learner
- With good mentors, any student can become a consummate learner.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lifelong learner
- Describes someone who keeps studying throughout life, but says nothing about how skilled they are.
- expert learner
- Plainer and less formal; it stresses skill rather than total dedication.
- master learner
- Rare and slightly odd in English; prefer 'consummate learner' or 'expert learner'.
Opposites
Word family
- consummate adjective
- Of the highest skill or quality; used before a noun.
- consummately adverb
- In a highly skilled or complete way, as in 'consummately acted'.
- learn verb
- To gain knowledge or skill.
- learner noun
- A person who is learning something.
Commonly confused: consummate learner or consummate (verb)?
consummate learner vs consummate (verb)
The verb 'consummate' (pronounced with a long final syllable) means to complete a deal or a marriage; the adjective here means 'perfectly skilled'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'consummate learner' in the right way?
Choose one answer.
'Consummate learner' is a noun phrase with the adjective before the noun, as in option 1. The other options wrongly use it as a verb or attach an infinitive or bare noun after it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “consummate learner”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.