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consul

noun

Simple meaning

A diplomat appointed by a government to protect its commercial interests and help its citizens in a foreign country.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kahnsuhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkɑnsəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A diplomat appointed by a government to protect its commercial interests and help its citizens in a foreign country

  2. by extension

    An official residing in major foreign towns to represent and protect the interests of the merchants and citizens of their country.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A diplomat appointed by a government to protect its commercial interests and help its citizens in a foreign country

Used this way, consul is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in government or politics contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Government/politics

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Diplomat / official

english consulelected consulappointed consul

Other combinations

vice consulfirst consulbritish consulamerican consuljapanese consul

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • consulatenounRelated term

    Diplomatic building that serves as the residence or workplace of a consul.

  • consularadjectiveRelated term

    Having to do with a consul or his office or duties.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.