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:
It is the knowledge that everyone there is living what you are merely watching, and that watching, from comfort, is its own small shame.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
For workers, however, long-term plans offer little immediate comfort.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Isa's comments section filled with people bonding over similar experiences of living alone or having no friends, and finding comfort in "feeling seen".
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
The filmmakers offered each various options of anonymity depending on their level of comfort.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
The idea of Babs being in the other room is enough to comfort me.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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
The basic creature comforts she had taken for granted in New York, where she lived before departing to teach dance in Havana in 1970, were hard to come by after years of Soviet subsidies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Sometimes, I feel most gay when I’m strolling outside feeling the breeze against my skin, like I’m experiencing the joy in a way that only I can, balanced with my own unique burdens and comforts.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
But contact is growing rapidly today, even if outsiders are barred from entering Indigenous territory, with members curious about the wider world -- and the modern comforts it can offer.
From Barron's ● May 18, 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
Afterwards, Tommy comforted Yasmin, telling her: "I've got you and that's all I care about."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 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
The stock is now being comforted by the 50 day SMA, and it recently successfully retested a double bottom breakout pivot of $88.56 taken out on March 2.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
“I think it’s important. Parts of me don’t like it, and then there are parts of me that actually feel comforted by it because I miss them.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
For that brief instant, Jonathan felt secure and comforted.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
At a time when market leaders are all about the promise of future AI riches, it’s comforting to own shares in an old-school company that can afford to reward shareholders generously today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Why one sound should seem so unbearable, yet the other almost comforting, is difficult to fully articulate or understand - but this is how he experiences life through his autism.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Appeals to history often carry the comforting suggestion that the past has only one story to tell.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
While comforting and educational for younger generations, Martinez argues that artists relying on nostalgia could turn that effort into becoming more experimental with their sound.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
It was the only comforting thought as they waited for the coming storm, alone and unprotected in the wide gray ocean.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
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.
