comfort

B1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈkʊm.fət/ UK /ˈkʌm.fət/ See IPA manual

Freq #2967

Meanings

1

noun
A pleasant feeling of being relaxed and free from pain or worry.

Sleep in comfort on our new mattress.
2

noun
A feeling of relief, or a person or thing that gives it during a hard time.

Their friendship was a great comfort during this difficult time.
3

verb
To make someone feel less sad, worried, or upset.

She comforted her crying daughter with a warm hug.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a pleasant feeling of being... comfortableness ease

2 noun · a feeling of relief, or a... consolation solace relief

3 verb · to make someone feel less... console solace soothe

More besoothe cheer

Opposites

hurt vex

Word family

Forms comfortedcomfortingcomfortinglycomforts

Derived forms comfort-eatcomfortabilitycomfortablecomfortativecomfortercomfortficcomfortfulcomfortingcomfortizecomfortlesscomfortmentcomfortsome

Related forms consolation pity

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

comfort food
familiar food that creates feelings of reassurance, pleasure, or home

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

cold comfort
Consolation that offers little real relief in a painful or difficult situation.

Etymology

From Middle English comforten, from Old French conforter, from Late Latin confortō (“to strengthen greatly”), itself from Latin con- (“together”) + fortis (“strong”).

comforten Middle English conforter Old French confortō la-lat con- Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

External links

# comfort

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkʊm.fət/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkʌm.fət/
**Frequency rank:** 2967

## Meanings
1. A pleasant feeling of being relaxed and free from pain or worry.
2. A feeling of relief, or a person or thing that gives it during a hard time.
3. To make someone feel less sad, worried, or upset.

## Examples
- Sleep in comfort on our new mattress.
- Their friendship was a great comfort during this difficult time.
- She comforted her crying daughter with a warm hug.

## Synonyms
- besoothe
- cheer
- console
- solace
- soothe

## Antonyms
- hurt
- vex

## Derived Forms
- comfort-eat
- comfortability
- comfortable
- comfortative
- comforter
- comfortfic
- comfortful
- comforting
- comfortize
- comfortless
- comfortment
- comfortsome

## Related Forms
- consolation
- pity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: comforten
- Root: conforter
- Root: confortō
- Root: con-

## Etymology
From Middle English comforten, from Old French conforter, from Late Latin confortō (“to strengthen greatly”), itself from Latin con- (“together”) + fortis (“strong”).

## AI Etymology
comfort is a noun and verb. It is from Middle English comforten, from Old French conforter, from Late Latin confortō (“to strengthen greatly”), itself from Latin con- (“together”) + fortis (“strong”). Historical forms in the chain include comforten (Middle English), conforter (Old French), confortō (Late Latin), and con- (Latin). Current senses include a pleasant feeling of being relaxed and free from pain or worry, a feeling of relief, or a person or thing that gives it during a hard time, and to make someone feel less sad, worried, or upset. Derived forms include comfort-eat, comfortability, comfortable, comfortative, and comforter. Related words include consolation and pity.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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