noun [con-stir-nay-shun]

FULL DEFINITION

-amazement or dismay that hinders or throws into confusion

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Examples:

-"The fact that the exact depth was recorded on the bottles was the source of considerable consternation among the admirals presiding over the Navy inquiry last week." —Karen Breslau et al., Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2001 

Did you know? Wonder what the seemingly dissimilar words prostrate ("stretched out with face on the ground"), stratum ("layer"), and stratus ("a low cloud form extending over a large area") have in common with consternation? They are all thought to share the Latin ancestor sternere, meaning "to spread" or "to strike or throw down."