comfort
Americanverb (used with object)
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comforts,
present (3rd person singular)
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comforted,
past participle, past
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comforting
present participle
noun
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comforts
plural
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relief in affliction; consolation; solace.
Her presence was a comfort to him.
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a feeling of relief or consolation.
Her forgiveness afforded him great comfort.
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a person or thing that gives consolation.
She was a great comfort to him.
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a cause or matter of relief or satisfaction.
The patient's recovery was a comfort to the doctor.
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a state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants, with freedom from pain and anxiety.
He is a man who enjoys his comfort.
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something that promotes such a state.
His wealth allows him to enjoy a high degree of comfort.
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Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a comforter or quilt.
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Obsolete. strengthening aid; assistance.
noun
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a state of ease or well-being
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relief from affliction, grief, etc
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a person, thing, or event that brings solace or ease
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obsolete support
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(usually plural) something that affords physical ease and relaxation
verb
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to ease the pain of; soothe; cheer
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to bring physical ease to
Synonym Usage
Comfort, console, relieve, soothe imply assuaging sorrow, worry, discomfort, or pain. To comfort is to lessen the sadness or sorrow of someone and to strengthen by inspiring with hope and restoring a cheerful outlook: to comfort a despairing person. Console, a more formal word, means to make grief or distress seem lighter, by means of kindness and thoughtful attentions: to console a bereaved parent. Relieve means to lighten, lessen, or remove pain, trouble, discomfort, or hardship: to relieve a needy person. Soothe means to pacify or calm: to soothe a child. See ease.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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comfortlessnessnoun
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comfortingadjective
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comfortlessadjective
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uncomfortedadjective
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comfortinglyadverb
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comfortlesslyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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comfortsimple
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comfortssimple
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have comfortedperfect
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has comfortedperfect
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am comfortingprogressive
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are comfortingprogressive
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is comfortingprogressive
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have been comfortingperfect progressive
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has been comfortingperfect progressive
Past
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comfortedsimple
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had comfortedperfect
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was comfortingprogressive
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were comfortingprogressive
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had been comfortingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of comfort
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English verb comfortien, from Anglo-French, Old French conforter, from Late Latin confortāre “to strengthen,” equivalent to con- con- ( def. ) + -fortāre, verb suffix formed from Latin fortis “strong”; noun derived from the verb
Explanation
To comfort someone is to give solace or to soothe. You might comfort your brother when his favorite team gets knocked out of the playoffs. The verb comfort comes from the Latin word comfortare, which means “strengthen greatly.” To give comfort is to shore up the mood or physical state of someone else. It might take a long time to comfort your mother after her cat disappears. As a noun, comfort is anything that provides satisfaction or a relaxed and easy feeling. You might think that the comfort of your new shoes cannot be surpassed.
Vocabulary lists containing comfort
Stay Strong: Forc and Fort
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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com-, con-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"While nothing can bring Richard back, we hope that today's sentencing outcome can provide a little comfort to those who loved him, and will go some way to seeing justice served."
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
"They're regular people," he said, "and they just need the comfort of knowing that they're not by themselves."
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
We design our standards to ensure no one will lose; we preoccupy ourselves more with the comfort of the worst than the potential of the best.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Its sunken gardens and swimming pool promised comfort, while a blast door, escape hatches and air filtration protected against nuclear fallout.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Leah had no time to comfort her sister.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
For the past-two-and-a-half years, some basic home comforts have been hard to come by for Ruari Morgan.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
In return, he’d get comforts for his death row cell, including a television, as well as $33,000 to pay off a restitution order and purchase headstones for his parents’ graves, The Times reported.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Real surprises are rarer in the land of Too Much TV, although we shouldn’t knock reliable comforts.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
There’s a trade-off: We experience a little emotional discomfort by being constantly surveilled, but we are rewarded with the more physical comforts of safety and efficiency.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
If I had it to do again, would I really put these little personal comforts ahead of human lives?
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
If you have watched any of these — if they comforted you on your worst days and made good ones better — Burrows had a hand in making your life funnier.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
I learned to regulate difficult emotions—sadness, anger, fear—much as I had comforted the wounded child alive within me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
He told the BBC he was both overwhelmed and comforted by the massive police presence when he arrived at the centre, San Diego County's second largest mosque, which also houses a primary school.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
He comforted terrified survivors and filled critical information voids by sending continual updates to friends and neighbors as firefighters fought the blaze.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
I’d like to of comforted Miss Love with that possibility.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
But its good witchery also contextualizes the quest for sanity in mad times like ours with comforting observations about occultism’s role during eras of social upheaval.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
I’ve found it comforting to prepare the simple recipe to a complex piece of music.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was something comforting about my conversation with Randy.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
“She called us, bawling, and we were loading the dog, comforting her,” Dowd said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
He placed a comforting hand on the man’s shoulder.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
