I. ˈkän(t)s(ə)nənt noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin consonant-, consonans, from present participle of consonare to sound at the same time
1. : one of a class of speech sounds (as p, g, n, l, s, r, w ) characterized by constriction or closure at one or more points in the breath channel ; broadly : any sound in a syllable other than the one most prominent sound (as the second element of a falling diphthong) — compare consonantal vowel , semivowel , vowel
2. : a letter representing a consonant — usually used in English of all letters in the alphabet except a, e, i, o, and u
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin consonant-, consonans, present participle of consonare to sound at the same time, agree, from com- + sonare to sound — more at sound
1. : suiting or according with a circumstance or situation or conforming to a standard or pattern without discord or difficulty
Fijians possessed a physical endurance consonant with their great stature — V.G.Heiser
it is … more consonant with the Puritan temper to abolish a practice than to elevate it — A.T.Quiller-Couch
2. : agreeable in sound ; specifically : harmonically satisfying — contrasted with dissonant
3. : having like sounds
consonant words
4. : consonantal
5. : relating to or exhibiting consonance : resonant
Synonyms:
consistent , compatible , congruous , congenial , sympathetic : consonant implies general harmony and stresses lack of factors making for discord or difficulty
the book presented meditations which were so consonant with Christian views that its Christian readers from Alfred to Dante mistook them for Christian sentiments — H.O.Taylor
even the man's start and suspicious stare as the priest went by were consonant enough with the vigilance and jealousy of such a type — G.K.Chesterton
The implications of consistent are much the same, although it may tend to suggest accord on small details in addition to main matters
Father John did not think it to be consistent with his dignity to answer this sally — Anthony Trollope
I have decided that the course of conduct which I am following is consistent with my sense of responsibility as president in time of war — F.D.Roosevelt
compatible indicates capacity for existing together without discord or conflict, although not necessarily in positive agreement or harmony
all systems of economy that are to be compatible with man's continual adaptation to a changing world must employ both the principle of order and that of freedom — M.R.Cohen
in ordinary society it is notoriously difficult for people of very unequal fortune to be friends in the true sense; that beautiful relationship is not compatible with patronage and dependence — H.J.Mackinder
congruous suggests a more positive harmony, a suitability of things likely to make for a pleasant impression
thoughts congruous to the nature of their subject — William Cowper
the doctrine is not always quite congruous with itself — Havelock Ellis
congenial is likely to imply pleasing concord or satisfying harmony
I was brought up in the freer, less conventional atmosphere of South Australia, and this English life, with its proprieties and its primness, is not congenial to me — A. Conan Doyle
the ideal of a Greek democracy was vastly congenial to his aristocratic temperament — V.L.Parrington
sympathetic may apply to a milder appeal or to a less hearty acceptance, but it always indicates a strong tendency toward concord
a semimystical, sympathetic harmony between husband and wife — Norman Cameron
thus a tête-à-tête with a man of similar tastes, who is just and yet sympathetic, critical yet appreciative … this is a high intellectual pleasure — A.C.Benson