adjective
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not comfortable
-
feeling or causing discomfort or unease; disquieting
Other Word Forms
- uncomfortableness noun
- uncomfortably adverb
Etymology
Origin of uncomfortable
First recorded in 1585–95; un- 1 + comfortable
Explanation
If it's very hot or very cold in the room, chances are you are going to feel uncomfortable or ill-at-ease. The word uncomfortable comes from the prefix un- meaning "not" and comfortable meaning "affording comfort." When something is uncomfortable, it doesn't allow you to relax. A hard chair can be uncomfortable. So can a tense situation in which two people are arguing. Someone can make you feel uncomfortable by saying something inappropriate.
Vocabulary lists containing uncomfortable
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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un-
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un-
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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.
“I was feeling pretty uncomfortable, so I put my hands in my back pockets,” Simhadri told Entertainment Weekly.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
First, the fact that she felt a vested interest in how much money he gives to his kids crosses a boundary that would make most people uncomfortable.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026
Milos Kerkez, a natural left-back, tasked with marking him, likely felt uncomfortable moving to the other side of the pitch before Mendes played a long ball over Konate to find Hakimi unmarked.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
The school’s survival is an uncomfortable topic among faculty, alumni and students.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
That uncomfortable electricity and weight in my shoulders is squeezing and pushing in and threatening to drop me to my knees.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
