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definitions

comfort

[kuhm-fert]
See more synonyms for comfort on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to soothe, console, or reassure; bring cheer to: They tried to comfort her after her loss.
  2. to make physically comfortable.
  3. Obsolete. to aid; support or encourage.
noun
  1. relief in affliction; consolation; solace: Her presence was a comfort to him.
  2. a feeling of relief or consolation: Her forgiveness afforded him great comfort.
  3. a person or thing that gives consolation: She was a great comfort to him.
  4. a cause or matter of relief or satisfaction: The patient's recovery was a comfort to the doctor.
  5. a state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants, with freedom from pain and anxiety: He is a man who enjoys his comfort.
  6. something that promotes such a state: His wealth allows him to enjoy a high degree of comfort.
  7. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a comforter or quilt.
  8. Obsolete. strengthening aid; assistance.

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.
Related formscom·fort·less, adjectiveun·com·fort·ed, adjective
Can be confusedcomfit comfort

Synonyms for comfort

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1. 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

Related Words for comforted

delight, console, assuage, relieve, reassure, encourage, refresh, soothe, cheer, hearten, help, strengthen, salve, soften, stroke, revitalize, ameliorate, allay, bolster, compose

Examples from the Web for comforted

Contemporary Examples of comforted

Historical Examples of comforted

  • The latter realized that in her present state Evelyn could not be comforted.

  • Therewith she felt nearer to her poor than ever before, and it comforted her.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • It might have comforted her a little, had she known what uneasy moments Martin was having.

    Dust

    Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius

  • I do nothing but beg and pray you to be comforted and overlook it.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • Such were the reflections with which Ormond at first comforted himself.

British Dictionary definitions for comforted

comfort

noun
  1. a state of ease or well-being
  2. relief from affliction, grief, etc
  3. a person, thing, or event that brings solace or ease
  4. obsolete support
  5. (usually plural) something that affords physical ease and relaxation
verb (tr)
  1. to ease the pain of; soothe; cheer
  2. to bring physical ease to
Derived Formscomforting, adjectivecomfortingly, adverbcomfortless, adjectivecomfortlessly, adverbcomfortlessness, noun

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 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.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with comforted

comfort

see cold comfort; creature comforts; too close for comfort.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.