From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishconsist of something phrasal verbCONSIST OF/BE MADE OFto be formed from two or more things or people The buffet consisted of several different Indian dishes.consist mainly/largely/primarily of somebody/something The audience consisted mainly of teenagers.consist entirely/solely of somebody/something The area does not consist entirely of rich people, despite popular belief.GrammarComparisonconsist of • You say: My family consists of four people. ✗Don’t say: My family consists in four people.• Consist is not used in the passive. ✗Don’t say: My family is consisted of four people.be made up of• You say: My family is made up of four people.be composed of • You say: My family is composed of four people.Using the progressive• The verb consist is not used in the progressive. You say: The building consists of four floors. ✗Don’t say: The building is consisting of four floors.• However, the participle form consisting is often used: There is a large art collection, consisting of over 300 paintings.THESAURUSconsist of/be made up of to be formed from two or more things or peopleLunch consisted of sandwiches and fruit.The apartment consisted of three rooms.The audience was largely made up of families.be composed of to consist of something – used especially when saying which natural substances something contains, or what kind of people are in a groupEvery chemical element is composed of atoms.Venus’ atmosphere is mainly composed of carbon dioxide.The team was composed of leading scientists from around the world.comprise /kəmˈpraɪz/ formal to consist of the things mentioned. Comprise can also be used to talk about the people or things which form somethingThe event comprises a champagne reception, two-course lunch, and a fashion show.Men still comprise the majority of people who have the disease.make up (also constitute formal) to be the things or people that form somethingWomen constitute a significant part of the workforce.Toys make up about 10% of the company’s sales. → consist→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
consist entirely/solely of somebody/something• Certainly, it is no justification in itself for ruling out ads consisting entirely of words.• He describes Lebna Dengel's capital as being the size of a town but consisting entirely of tents.• He proposed designing a plane consisting entirely of flat triangles.• In these terms, the original puzzle becomes that of why natural selection does not produce a population consisting entirely of hawks.• These should consist entirely of high upland in which no agricultural or forestry activities would take place.• These organizations usually consist entirely of older people committed to fighting elderly issues directly. 