adjective
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not comfortable
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feeling or causing discomfort or unease; disquieting
Other Word Forms
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.
For those consumers who want choices, it means something uncomfortable: They can keep trying harder to avoid the giants, but the giants keep getting bigger anyway.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
Americans are, apparently, more uncomfortable discussing money than politics, religion, or even their love lives.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
And several characters in the final episode are forced into that uncomfortable corner, and they all react quite different.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Beijing has moderated its diplomatic style as it likely recognised uncomfortable realities.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
I had to admit that Daisy was a pretty good nurse but it always made me feel uncomfortable lying there with her fussing around me that way.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
