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discomfort

[dis-kuhm-fert]
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noun
  1. an absence of comfort or ease; uneasiness, hardship, or mild pain.
  2. anything that is disturbing to or interferes with comfort.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to disturb the comfort or happiness of; make uncomfortable or uneasy.
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Origin of discomfort

1300–50; (v.) Middle English discomforten to discourage, pain < Anglo-French descomforter to sadden, grieve; see dis-1, comfort; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, derivative of v.
Related formsdis·com·fort·a·ble [dis-kuhm-fer-tuh-buh l, -kuhmf-tuh-] /dɪsˈkʌm fər tə bəl, -ˈkʌmf tə-/, adjectivedis·com·fort·ing·ly, adverb
Can be confuseddiscomfit discomfort
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

annoyancehardshipsorenessdisquietembarrassmentuneasinessdispleasureachetroubleunpleasantnessdistressdiscomposureupsethurtmalaisediscomfiturenuisanceinquietudevexationnettle

Examples from the Web for discomfort

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I sincerely hope that what I have done will not result in any discomfort or inconvenience to you.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • However, in spite of discomfort, we would not have missed the journey on any account.

    In the Heart of Vosges

    Matilda Betham-Edwards

  • He found to his own discomfort what was the fact and the reality, which were not very convenient for him.

    Welsh Fairy Tales

    William Elliott Griffis

  • You can excuse the disorder and discomfort of a painter's studio?'

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • Prada again felt worried, a prey to the discomfort of uncertainty.

British Dictionary definitions for discomfort

discomfort

noun
  1. an inconvenience, distress, or mild pain
  2. something that disturbs or deprives of ease
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verb
  1. (tr) to make uncomfortable or uneasy
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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 discomfort

n.

mid-14c., from Old French desconfort (12c.), from desconforter (v.), from des- (see dis-) + conforter (see comfort (v.)).

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v.

c.1300, "to deprive of courage," from Old French desconforter; see discomfort (n.). Related: Discomforted; discomforting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper