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.
“I used corsets as one of my hacks because I wanted Mary to feel initially quite uncomfortable in her own body,” she said.
From Salon • Jun. 25, 2026
The fear was that increasing the field by 50% would dilute the competition beyond recognition, leading to a parade of uncomfortable blowouts or overly conservative stalemates between teams desperate to avoid national humiliation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
But when he would occasionally return to America, where his fish-out-of-Irish-water tales didn’t always translate, he felt uncomfortable onstage.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026
High humidity levels will make conditions even more uncomfortable - while the air temperature might be 35C, for example, it may feel more like it's 41C.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
I had to trust Regan in the same desperate way that a skydiver trusts his parachute, and that feeling was uncomfortable for someone like me.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
