comfort
[kuhm-fert]
- to soothe, console, or reassure; bring cheer to: They tried to comfort her after her loss.
- to make physically comfortable.
- Obsolete. to aid; support or encourage.
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- relief in affliction; consolation; solace: Her presence was a comfort to him.
- a feeling of relief or consolation: Her forgiveness afforded him great comfort.
- a person or thing that gives consolation: She was a great comfort to him.
- a cause or matter of relief or satisfaction: The patient's recovery was a comfort to the doctor.
- a state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants, with freedom from pain and anxiety: He is a man who enjoys his comfort.
- something that promotes such a state: His wealth allows him to enjoy a high degree of comfort.
- Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a comforter or quilt.
- Obsolete. strengthening aid; assistance.
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Origin of comfort
1175–1225; (v.) Middle English comfortien, variant of confortien, conforten < Anglo-French, Old French conforter < Late Latin confortāre to strengthen, equivalent to con- con- + -fortāre verbal derivative of Latin fortis strong; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French, noun derivative of the v.
Synonyms
See more synonyms for comfort on Thesaurus.com1. pacify, calm, solace, gladden. 1, 2. ease.
Synonym study
1. 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. 8. See ease.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for comforted
Contemporary Examples
But his reaction—awed, comforted, peaceful—is just a confirmation.
Although Vanessa comforted herself with the pretence that I had two fathers, in reality—emotional reality, that is—I had none.
Her hand tightened on mine and her head fell back upon my shoulder, but she still trembled and I petted her and comforted her.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
On the day that The Times (of London) reported that Brooks would be questioned by police, she wrote that he had comforted her.
My newly acquired gas mask sits beside me, and I am comforted.
Historical Examples
The latter realized that in her present state Evelyn could not be comforted.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton CampusJessie Graham Flower
Therewith she felt nearer to her poor than ever before, and it comforted her.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
It might have comforted her a little, had she known what uneasy moments Martin was having.
DustMr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
I do nothing but beg and pray you to be comforted and overlook it.
Little DorritCharles Dickens
Such were the reflections with which Ormond at first comforted himself.
Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
comfort
- a state of ease or well-being
- relief from affliction, grief, etc
- a person, thing, or event that brings solace or ease
- obsolete support
- (usually plural) something that affords physical ease and relaxation
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- to ease the pain of; soothe; cheer
- to bring physical ease to
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French confort, from Late Latin confortāre to strengthen very much, from Latin con- (intensive) + fortis strong
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
Word Origin and History for comforted
comfort
v.
late 13c., conforten "to cheer up, console," from Old French conforter "to comfort, to solace; to help, strengthen," from Late Latin confortare "to strengthen much" (used in Vulgate), from Latin com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + fortis "strong" (see fort). Change of -n- to -m- began in English 14c. Related: Comforted; comforting.
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comfort
n.
c.1200, "feeling of relief" (as still in to take comfort in something); also "source of alleviation or relief;" from Old French confort (see comfort (v.)). Replaced Old English frofor. Comforts (as opposed to necessities and luxuries) is from 1650s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with comforted
comfort
see cold comfort; creature comforts; too close for comfort.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.