Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

comfortable

American  
[kuhmf-ter-buhl, kuhm-fer-tuh-buhl] / ˈkʌmf tər bəl, ˈkʌm fər tə bəl /

adjective

  1. (of clothing, furniture, etc.) producing or affording physical comfort, support, or ease.

    a comfortable chair;

    comfortable shoes.

  2. being in a state of physical or mental comfort; contented and undisturbed; at ease.

    to be comfortable in new shoes;

    I don't feel comfortable in the same room with her.

  3. (of a person, situation, etc.) producing mental comfort or ease; easy to accommodate oneself to or associate with.

    She's a comfortable person to be with.

  4. more than adequate or sufficient.

    a comfortable salary.

  5. Obsolete. cheerful.

noun

  1. Chiefly Northern U.S. a quilted bedcover; comforter.

comfortable British  
/ ˈkʌmfətəbəl, ˈkʌmftəbəl /

adjective

  1. giving comfort or physical relief

  2. at ease

  3. free from affliction or pain

  4. (of a person or situation) relaxing

  5. informal having adequate income

  6. informal (of income) adequate to provide comfort

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • comfortability noun
  • comfortableness noun
  • comfortably adverb
  • quasi-comfortable adjective
  • quasi-comfortably adverb
  • supercomfortable adjective

Etymology

Origin of comfortable

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Anglo-French word confortable. See comfort, -able

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.

She doesn’t feel comfortable speaking Spanish because she doesn’t know how to speak it anymore, even though it was her first language.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

Folks were more comfortable banning those because it was clear-cut and each image had a distinct file.

From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026

As many of you who clock dozens of business flights a year know, predeparture champagne and the most comfortable lie-flat seat aren’t going to save the day if you can’t work.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

The company talked up its Wool Runner as “the world’s most comfortable shoe.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

It was a dandy hiding place, and I proceeded to make myself comfortable.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

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.