Word.ws English Dictionary

consistence

/kənˈsɪst(ə)ns/US/kənˈsɪstəns/

consistence noun: logical consistency; lack of self-contradiction.

consistence: a honey dip being poured onto a wooden spoon
Photo by Mahdi Kordi on Unsplash

Noun

consistence (countable and uncountable, plural consistences)

  1. Logical consistency; lack of self-contradiction.
  2. The staying together, or remaining in close relation, of non-physical things.
    • Her performance has lacked consistence over the last year.
    • This composer’s musical work is of extraordinary consistence.
  3. (archaic) The physical quality which is given by the degree of density, firmness, solidity, and viscosity; consistency.
    • If they [expressed juices] be boiled into the Consistence of a Syrup.1731, John Arbuthnot, An Essay Concerning the Nature of Aliments, and the Choice of Them, According to the Different Constitutions of Human Bodies. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], →OCLC
    • It is generally about the size of a melon, a little fibrous towards the centre, but everywhere else quite smooth and puddingy, something in consistence between yeast-dumplings and batter-pudding.1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 476
  4. (obsolete) The condition of adhering or standing together, or being fixed in union, as the parts of a body; coherence, existence, firmness, solidity.
    • Water, being divided, maketh many circles, till it restore itself to the natural consistence.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted...
    • VVe are as vvater, vveak, and of no conſiſtence, alvvayes deſcending, abiding in no certain place, unleſeſ vvhere vvee are detained vvith violence: […]1650 October (published 1651), Jer[emy] Taylor, “[XXVIII Sermons Preached at Golden Grove; Being for the Summer Half-year, […].] Sermon XXVIII. A Funeral Sermon, Preached at the Obsequies of the...
  5. (obsolete) That which stands together as a united whole; a combination.
    • The church of God, as meaning whole consistence of orders and members.1641 May, John Milton, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England: And the Causes that hitherto have Hindred it. […], [London]: […] Thomas Vnderhill, →OCLC
  6. (obsolete) Standing still; quiescence, state of rest.
  7. (obsolete except poetic) A substance which adheres together.
    • Ægyptian ingenuity vvas more unſatisfied, contriving their bodies in ſvveet conſiſtences, to attend the return of their ſouls. But all vvas vanity, feeding the vvinde, and folly.1658, Thomas Browne, “Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall. […]. Chapter V.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […], →OCLC, page 78

consistence meaning in Tamil

consistence in Tamil

ஒருநிலை நிற்றல், பொருந்துகை, மாறாமை

Examples of consistence in a sentence

  • All these things, and many others too numerous to mention, were well mixed together in the famous pot and boiled for four hours, until the consistence of a mess, or poss, was obtained, […]1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:
  • When it was brought to the school it discharged from its right nostril, a whitish, viscid, clotty matter, which, although of little consistence, strongly adhered to the sides of the nostril.1830, The Veterinarian:

Forms of consistence

pluralconsistences

Origin of consistence

From Middle French. Compare French consistance. By surface analysis, consist + -ence.

Words formed from consistence

Words that rhyme with consistence

Questions about consistence

What does consistence mean?
Consistence means logical consistency; lack of self-contradiction.
What is consistence in Tamil?
Consistence in Tamil is ஒருநிலை நிற்றல், பொருந்துகை, மாறாமை. See Consistence meaning in Tamil.
How do you use consistence in a sentence?
All these things, and many others too numerous to mention, were well mixed together in the famous pot and boiled for four hours, until the consistence of a mess, or poss, was obtained, […]
What part of speech is consistence?
Consistence is a noun.
How do you pronounce consistence?
Consistence is pronounced /kənˈsɪst(ə)ns/ (UK).
What is the plural of consistence?
The plural of consistence is consistences.

Words near consistence in the dictionary

  1. consistant
  2. consistantly
  3. consisted
  4. consisted in
  5. consisted of
  6. consistence
  7. consistences
  8. consistencies
  9. consistency
  10. consistent
  11. consistent life ethic

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: consistence (page history and authors); consistence (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-consistence.wav.

Cite this entry: “consistence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/consistence. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.