comfort
[ kuhm-fert ]
/ ˈkʌm fərt /
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verb (used with object)
noun
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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.
synonym study for comfort
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.
OTHER WORDS FROM comfort
com·fort·less, adjectiveun·com·fort·ed, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH comfort
comfit, comfortDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use comfort in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for comfort
comfort
/ (ˈkʌmfət) /
noun
verb (tr)
to ease the pain of; soothe; cheer
to bring physical ease to
Derived forms of comfort
Word Origin for comfort
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
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Other Idioms and Phrases with comfort
comfort
see cold comfort; creature comforts; too close for comfort.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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