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:
These are easy questions to ask from the comfort of a living room or the cushion of a theater seat, but much harder to answer when you’re living the life.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
To this day, Athena said through Davis, the only thing that gives her comfort is talking to her late husband: “I tell him, ‘I love you and will always.’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Archbishop of Toledo Francisco Cerro acknowledged that "there are no words that can offer comfort" to those who had lost loved ones.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026
The distinguishing features of the Qatari airplane are its size, comfort, and the luxury of its interior furnishings, points Trump has gushed over.
From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026
That simple affirmation must have given Mrs. Redfield powerful comfort.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Even though manifest have their sights set on stages around the world, after several weeks in London they were missing some of the comforts of home.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Fisher designed a 5,000-square-foot studio and home that combines the aesthetics of a downtown artist’s loft and the comforts of a single-family home in the working-class enclave that still offered inexpensive land.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The comforts of a resort leave Mr. Young feeling guilty on “Fontainebleau,” a guitar-laden track named for the Miami Beach hotel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Real surprises are rarer in the land of Too Much TV, although we shouldn’t knock reliable comforts.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
She awoke from a long childhood in which she had always been protected and surrounded by attention and comforts, with no responsibilities.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Faulk met Ali at a dinner and said on the podcast that he is comforted by the memory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Nearby, as hundreds of people watched the blaze, a municipal employee was seen in tears, comforted by a local councillor.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Eventually, she’s comforted by her unwavering support of Keeley, who is just the right mix of adorable, attractive and ambitious, and the fact that at least she’s not an anti-feminist like her mother.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026
In scenes very similar to the incident against RB Leipzig on Saturday, the 23-year-old was comforted by team-mates including England captain Harry Kane.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Mom comforted me and tried to explain how much of a privilege it is to be alive and loved, and for a while, it all made sense.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
Drones could make schools safer, but they also suggest an environment more threatening than comforting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
But here, too, Wladyka stumbles, opting for a comforting but pat ending about how dance and art enliven so many lives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 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
"The support has been overwhelming, and it's been comforting," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Down the dirt path, they could see a skinny boy followed by several young girls who seemed to be comforting him.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
