Standard Lemma guide

condolence

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /kənˈdoʊləns/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Philippines: /ˈkɒndələns/
  • CMU ARPABET: K AH0 N D OW1 L AH0 N S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Comfort, support or sympathy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • There was not much to do after the accident but offer what condolence I could.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An expression of comfort, support, or sympathy offered to the family and friends of somebody who has died.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, plural-normally

Examples

  • I sent her a card expressing my condolences after her mother passed away.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

an expression of sympathy with another's grief

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • they sent their condolences

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: commiseration

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: acknowledgment, acknowledgement

History

Etymology

From condole + -ence, or from Middle French condoléance, or formed from the root of Latin condoleō (“to sympathize”), from con- (“together, with”) and doleō (“to hurt, suffer, have pain”).

Across languages

Translations

71 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: ցավակցություն (cʻavakcʻutʻyun) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Armenian: կարեկցանք (karekcʻankʻ) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Belarusian: спачува́нне (spačuvánnje) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Bulgarian: съчу́вствие (sǎčúvstvie) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Chinese Mandarin: 同情 (tóngqíng) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Chinese Mandarin: 愛心 /爱心 (àixīn) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Czech: soustrast — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Finnish: osanotto — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Finnish: myötätunto — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Finnish: pahoittelu — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • French: réconfort — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Georgian: თანაგრძნობა (tanagrʒnoba) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • German: Beileid — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • German: Anteilnahme — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Italian: conforto — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Japanese: 同情 (dōjō) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Korean: 동정 (dongjeong) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Macedonian: сочувство (sočuvstvo) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Polish: współczucie — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Romanian: compătimire — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Romanian: consolare — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Russian: сочу́вствие (sočúvstvije) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Russian: соболе́знование (soboléznovanije) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Slovak: sústrasť — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Ukrainian: співчуття́ (spivčuttjá) — comfort, support or sympathy — see also condolences
  • Arabic: تَأْسِيَة (taʔsiya) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Arabic: تَعْزِيَة (taʕziya) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Armenian: ցավակցություն (cʻavakcʻutʻyun) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Azerbaijani: başsağlığı — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Belarusian: спачува́нне (spačuvánnje) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Bulgarian: съболе́знования (sǎboléznovanija) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Catalan: condol — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Chinese Mandarin: 哀悼 (āidào) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Chinese Mandarin: 吊慰 (diàowèi) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Czech: kondolence — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Czech: soustrast — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Danish: kondolence — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Dutch: condoleance — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Estonian: kaastunne — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Estonian: kaastundeavaldus — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Finnish: osanotto — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Finnish: surunvalittelu — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • French: condoléances — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • German: Kondolenz — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Hungarian: részvét — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Italian: condoglianze — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Japanese: お悔やみ (okuyami) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Japanese: 哀悼 (aitō) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Japanese: 弔意 (chōi) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Korean: 애도 (aedo) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Korean: 조의 (joui) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kondolanse — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Polish: kondolencje — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Portuguese: condolência — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Portuguese: pêsame — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Romanian: condoleanțe — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Russian: соболе́знование (soboléznovanije) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Russian: соболе́знования (soboléznovanija) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Slovak: kondolencia — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Slovak: sústrasť — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Spanish: pésame — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Spanish: péname — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Spanish: condolencia — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Swedish: kondoleans — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Tagalog: hingaba — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Tagalog: paghihingaba — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Tagalog: pakikiramay — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Tashelhit: afcad — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Turkish: başsağlığı — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Turkish: taziye — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences
  • Ukrainian: співчуття́ (spivčuttjá) — sympathy when someone has died — see also condolences