solace

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   Comfort or relief found during sadness, loss, or hardship.

   Grammar: Usually uncountable; it is commonly found in something, not simply given.

   Patterns

   • find solace in something
   • take solace from something
   • seek solace

   She found solace in long walks after the funeral.

   He took solace from the kindness of strangers.

   Many people seek solace in music during hard times.

2. 2nouncountableliterary

   A person, place, or thing that gives comfort, especially during grief.

   Grammar: Literary and less common; use a solace when naming one source of comfort.

   Patterns

   • a solace to someone
   • a solace in hard times
   • be a solace

   The garden was a solace to her in her final years.

   His letters became a solace after the move.

   The old dog was a quiet solace to the children.

Common combinations

find solace in something

They found solace in prayer after the accident.

take solace from something

We took solace from the doctor's calm voice.

seek solace

He sought solace beside the sea.

little solace

The apology offered little solace.

Synonyms and how they differ

comfort

Everyday and broader; solace is more formal and tied to distress.

consolation

Often comfort offered after loss; solace can be found without anyone offering it.

relief

Focuses on release from pain or pressure, not necessarily emotional comfort.

succor

Formal help in difficulty; stronger suggestion of aid, less gentle than solace.

Opposites

Word family

solace verb

To comfort someone; literary and less common than the noun.

solacement noun

Rare noun meaning comfort or consolation.

Commonly confused: solace or solstice? solace or console?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “solace”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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