consternation
noun
Pearl Buck
Did you know?
If you’ve ever been flummoxed, befuddled, or even fuddled, you know a thing or two about consternation—but perhaps not all of it. Consternation and confusion are not synonymous, though it’s understandable that they are sometimes confused. Consternation refers not to confusion, but to a feeling of amazement or dismay that can lead to confusion, or otherwise hinder or stop someone in their tracks. And much like dismay, consternation is often used in constructions starting with “much to,” as in “much to their consternation, their teacher announced a pop quiz as soon as class started.” People also often “express” or “show” their consternation in various ways, whether with furrowed brow, mouth agog, or assorted mumblings and grumblings—visual and audible clues that they are working out just what to do next after being consternated.
Examples of consternation in a Sentence
Karen Breslau et al., Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2001
In the grimy market-places where so-called friendly intelligence services do their trading, tip-offs, like money, are laundered in all sorts of ways … . They can be blown up so as to cause consternation or tempered to encourage complacency.
—John le Carré, Granta 35, Spring 1991
The King was relaxing; his face had softened. Awful, to have to banish this hard-earned peace, burden him with a fresh worry. But better he should hear it from his loyalest baron, his own brother, than have the news blurted out to him by some idiot agent avid to cause a maximum of consternation.
—Colleen McCullough, The First Man in Rome, 1990
The candidate caused consternation among his supporters by changing positions on a key issue.
Much to her parents' consternation, she had decided to not go to college.
Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 1 June 2024
But the portions of the bill that caused the most consternation were measures that some in its opposition allege penalize children for the failures of adults.
—Hannah Gaskill, Baltimore Sun, 15 May 2024
Any user experience makeover inevitably brings many questions, and shipping with a lengthy list of missing features was always going to cause consternation among longtime customers.
—Chris Welch, The Verge, 14 May 2024
His views on feminism and homosexuality have also caused consternation.
—Danielle Battaglia, Charlotte Observer, 12 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for consternation 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'consternation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near consternation
Cite this Entry
“Consternation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consternation. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
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consternation
noun
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