comfort

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

com·fort

(kŭm′fərt)

tr.v. com·fort·ed, com·fort·ing, com·forts

1. To soothe in time of affliction or distress.

2. To ease physically; relieve: comforted the feverish patient with a cool cloth.

a. A condition or feeling of pleasurable physical ease or relief from pain or stress: finally sat in comfort on the soft pillows.

b. A condition of well-being, contentment, and security: an income that allowed them to live in comfort.

a. Solace or consolation in time of sorrow or distress: soothing words of comfort.

b. Help; assistance: gave comfort to the enemy.

a. Something providing ease, convenience, or security: the comforts of modern living.

b. A person or thing that brings consolation or mental ease: a friend who was a comfort to me in my grief.

4. Chiefly Southern & Lower Northern US A quilted bedcover; a comforter.

[Middle English comforten, from Old French conforter, to strengthen, from Late Latin cōnfortāre : Latin com-, intensive pref.; see com- + Latin fortis, strong; see bhergh- in Indo-European roots.]

com′fort·ing·ly adv.

Synonyms: comfort, console¹, solace
These verbs mean to give hope or help to in time of grief or pain: comforted the distressed child; consoling a recent widow; solaced myself with a hot cup of coffee. See Also Synonyms at amenity.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

comfort

(ˈkʌmfət)

1. a state of ease or well-being

2. relief from affliction, grief, etc

3. a person, thing, or event that brings solace or ease

4. obsolete support

5. (usually plural) something that affords physical ease and relaxation

vb (tr)

6. to ease the pain of; soothe; cheer

7. to bring physical ease to

[C13: from Old French confort, from Late Latin confortāre to strengthen very much, from Latin con- (intensive) + fortis strong]

ˈcomforting adj

ˈcomfortingly adv

ˈcomfortless adj

ˈcomfortlessly adv

ˈcomfortlessness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

com•fort

(ˈkʌm fərt)

v.t.

1. to soothe, console, or reassure; bring solace or cheer to: to comfort someone after a loss.

2. to make physically comfortable.

3. relief in affliction; consolation; solace.

4. a feeling of relief or consolation.

5. a person or thing that gives consolation or relief.

6. a state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants, with freedom from pain and anxiety.

7. something that promotes such a state.

8. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a comforter or quilt.

9. Obs. strengthening aid; assistance.

[1175–1225; Middle English comfortien < Anglo-French, Old French conforter < Late Latin confortāre to strengthen <con- + Latin fortis strong]

com′fort•less, adj.

syn: comfort, console, soothe imply assuaging sorrow, worry, discomfort, or pain. comfort means to lessen someone's grief or distress by giving strength and hope and restoring a cheerful outlook: to comfort a despairing friend. console, a more formal word, means to make grief or distress seem lighter by means of kindness and thoughtful attentions: to console a bereaved parent. soothe means to pacify or calm: to soothe a crying child.

Comfort

of cats.

Comfort

(Feel as) comfortable as a Cossack in Kiev —Richard Ford
(Eugene was) comfortable as a saggy armchair —Donald McCaig
Comfortable as matrimony —Nathan Bailey
Comfortable … like sleeping on a cloud —Slogan, Sealy Inc.
Comforting as a long soak in a hot tub after a short walk in a freezing rainstorm —Elyse Sommer
Comforting as the Surgeon-General’s statement on a pack of Lucky Strikes —Harry Prince
Comfort [memory of a lover] like a rosary —Sumner Locke Elliot
Cozy and dark as a dreary day —Sharon Sheehe Stark
See Also: DARKNESS
Cozy as a cup of tea —Anon
Cozy as a nest —Émile Zola
Cozy as visiting your grandmother —Mary Lee Settle
Easy as an old shoe —English proverb
New Englanders brought this from the old country as “Comfortable as an old shoe,” an expression still very much in use. There’s also a Ukranian proverb which incorporates a somewhat different form of this simile.
See Also: MARRIAGE
Feels comfortable like in a cloud —Francois Maspero
Reassured … like a sheltering wing over a motherless bird —Louisa May Alcott
See Also: KINDNESS
Restful as one’s favorite armchair —Frank Swinnerton
(Here Skigg lies) snug as a bug in a rug —Benjamin Franklin, letter to Georgiana Shipley, September, 1772
Snug as the yolk in an egg —Henrik Ibsen
Soothing as mother’s milk —Anon
[Conversation] soothing, like the quiet, washing sound of an ocean —Donald Justice
Supported [by attentive performance] as a bold swimmer by the waves —Ivan Turgenev
[Prospect of someone’s being there] sustained him like a snug life jacket —Lynne Sharon Schwartz
Sustain like a stream does a trout —Andrew Dubus
Warm and cozy and private as a nursery —John Braine
Warm and old-fashioned as a potbellied stove —Anon, capsule movie review, Newsday, January, 1986
(Walls look as) warm and sturdy as a fisherman’s hand-knitted sweater —Sheila Radley
See Also: PERMANENCE
(The whole room was as equally and agreeably) warm as a bath full of water —Anon
See Also: ROOMS
Warm as piss —American colloquialism
Warm as sunshine, light as floating clouds —Slogan, Torfeaco bedding
Warm like love —Sharon Sheehe Stark

comfort

Past participle: comforted
Gerund: comforting

Imperative
comfort
comfort

Present
I comfort
you comfort
he/she/it comforts
we comfort
you comfort
they comfort

Preterite
I comforted
you comforted
he/she/it comforted
we comforted
you comforted
they comforted

Present Continuous
I am comforting
you are comforting
he/she/it is comforting
we are comforting
you are comforting
they are comforting

Present Perfect
I have comforted
you have comforted
he/she/it has comforted
we have comforted
you have comforted
they have comforted

Past Continuous
I was comforting
you were comforting
he/she/it was comforting
we were comforting
you were comforting
they were comforting

Past Perfect
I had comforted
you had comforted
he/she/it had comforted
we had comforted
you had comforted
they had comforted

Future
I will comfort
you will comfort
he/she/it will comfort
we will comfort
you will comfort
they will comfort

Future Perfect
I will have comforted
you will have comforted
he/she/it will have comforted
we will have comforted
you will have comforted
they will have comforted

Future Continuous
I will be comforting
you will be comforting
he/she/it will be comforting
we will be comforting
you will be comforting
they will be comforting

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been comforting
you have been comforting
he/she/it has been comforting
we have been comforting
you have been comforting
they have been comforting

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been comforting
you will have been comforting
he/she/it will have been comforting
we will have been comforting
you will have been comforting
they will have been comforting

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been comforting
you had been comforting
he/she/it had been comforting
we had been comforting
you had been comforting
they had been comforting

Conditional
I would comfort
you would comfort
he/she/it would comfort
we would comfort
you would comfort
they would comfort

Past Conditional
I would have comforted
you would have comforted
he/she/it would have comforted
we would have comforted
you would have comforted
they would have comforted

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	comfort - a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain; "he is a man who enjoys his comfort"; "she longed for the comfortableness of her armchair" comfortableness condition, status - a state at a particular time; "a condition (or state) of disrepair"; "the current status of the arms negotiations" relief, ease - the condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress); "he enjoyed his relief from responsibility"; "getting it off his conscience gave him some ease" solacement, solace - comfort in disappointment or misery cosiness, coziness, snugness - a state of warm snug comfort convenience - the state of being suitable or opportune; "chairs arranged for his own convenience" discomfort, uncomfortableness - the state of being tense and feeling pain
	2.	comfort - a feeling of freedom from worry or disappointment pleasure, pleasance - a fundamental feeling that is hard to define but that people desire to experience; "he was tingling with pleasure" consolation, solace, solacement - the comfort you feel when consoled in times of disappointment; "second place was no consolation to him" alleviation, assuagement, relief - the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced; "as he heard the news he was suddenly flooded with relief"
	3.	comfort - the act of consoling; giving relief in affliction; "his presence was a consolation to her" consolation, solace ministration, succor, succour, relief - assistance in time of difficulty; "the contributions provided some relief for the victims"
	4.	comfort - a freedom from financial difficulty that promotes a comfortable state; "a life of luxury and ease"; "he had all the material comforts of this world" ease affluence, richness - abundant wealth; "they studied forerunners of richness or poverty"; "the richness all around unsettled him for he had expected to find poverty" lap of luxury - in conditions of wealth and comfort; "he was raised in the lap of luxury"
	5.	comfort - satisfaction or physical well-being provided by a person or thing; "his friendship was a comfort"; "a padded chair was one of the room's few comforts" gratification, satisfaction - state of being gratified or satisfied; "dull repetitious work gives no gratification"; "to my immense gratification he arrived on time"
	6.	comfort - bedding made of two layers of cloth filled with stuffing and stitched together quilt, comforter, puff bed clothing, bedclothes, bedding - coverings that are used on a bed continental quilt, duvet, eiderdown - a soft quilt usually filled with the down of the eider patchwork quilt, patchwork - a quilt made by sewing patches of different materials together
	7.	comfort - assistance, such as that provided to an enemy or to a known criminal; "it gave comfort to the enemy" assist, assistance, help, aid - the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose; "he gave me an assist with the housework"; "could not walk without assistance"; "rescue party went to their aid"; "offered his help in unloading"
Verb	1.	comfort - give moral or emotional strength to console, solace, soothe calm, still, tranquilize, tranquillise, tranquillize, calm down, quiet, quieten, lull - make calm or still; "quiet the dragons of worry and fear" allay, still, ease, relieve - lessen the intensity of or calm; "The news eased my conscience"; "still the fears"
	2.	comfort - lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate; "ease the pain in your legs" ease alleviate, relieve, palliate, assuage - provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches"

comfort

noun

1. ease, luxury, wellbeing, opulence She had enough money to live in comfort for the rest of her life.

2. consolation, cheer, encouragement, succour, help, support, aid, relief, ease, compensation, alleviation I tried to find some words of comfort to offer her.
consolation discomfort, irritation, hassle (informal), annoyance, aggravation, discouragement

verb

1. console, encourage, ease, cheer, strengthen, relieve, reassure, soothe, hearten, solace, assuage, gladden, commiserate with He put his arm round her, trying to comfort her.
console trouble, excite, bother, depress, distress, annoy, irritate, discomfort, hassle (informal), aggravate (informal), agitate, ruffle, sadden, irk, rile, give someone grief

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

comfort

verb

1. To give hope to in time of grief or pain:

console, solace, soothe.

2. To make less severe or more bearable:

allay, alleviate, assuage, ease, lessen, lighten, mitigate, palliate, relieve.

noun

1. Steady good fortune or financial security:

ease, prosperity, prosperousness.

Informal: easy street.

Idioms: comfortable circumstances, the good life.

2. A consoling in time of grief or pain:

consolation, solace.

3. Anything that increases physical comfort:

amenity, convenience, facility (often used in plural).

Translations

تَعْزِيَه، سَلْوانراحَه

pohodlíútěcha

bekvemmelighedkomforttrøstvelværenydelse

Behaglichkeit Trost Komfort trösten Tröstung

άνεση παρηγορώ

comodidad confort confortar consolar consuelo

helpotuslohduttaalohdutuslohtumukava

réconfort réconforter confort

enyhületkényelemvigaszvigasztalás

òægindi

conforto consolazione accomodarsi agiatezza agio

gyventi pasiturimaijaukumaspaguodapasiturimaipasiturimas

komfortsmierinājums

comfort gemak troost troosten

komfort nytelse støtte trøst velvære

комфорт удобство утешать утешение

komfort

olajšanjetolažbatolažitiudobje

huzur konforrahatlıkteselli

安慰舒适

comfort

[ˈkʌmfət]

A. N

1. (= solace) → consuelo m
you're a great comfort to me → eres un gran consuelo para mí
if it's any comfort to you → si te sirve de consuelo
that's cold or small comfort → eso no me consuela nada
the exam is too close for comfort → el examen está demasiado cerca para que me sienta tranquilo
to give comfort to the enemy → dar aliento al enemigo
to take comfort from sth → consolarse con algo
I take comfort in or from the fact/knowledge that → me consuelo sabiendo que ...

2. (= well-being) → confort m, comodidad f; (= facility) → comodidad f
to live in comfort → vivir cómodamente
with every modern comfort → con todo confort, con toda comodidad
he likes his home comforts → le gusta rodearse de las comodidades del hogar

B. VT (= give solace) → consolar, confortar

C. CPD comfort eating, comfort food N comida como terapia contra la depresión
comfort station N (US) → servicios mpl, aseos mpl, baño m (LAm)
comfort zone N [of activity, job] → terreno m conocido

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

comfort

[ˈkʌmfə^rt]

(physical) → confort m, bien-être m

(= solace) → consolation f, réconfort m

vt → consoler, réconforter

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

comfort

→ Komfort m, → Bequemlichkeit f; relax in the comfort of a leather armchair → entspannen Sie sich in unseren behaglichen Ledersesseln; he likes his comforts → er liebt seinen Komfort or seine Bequemlichkeit; to live in comfort → komfortabel leben; an apartment with all modern comforts → eine Wohnung mit allem Komfort

(= consolation) → Beruhigung f, → Trost m; to take comfort from the fact that … → sich mit dem Gedanken or sich damit trösten, dass …; your presence is/you are a great comfort to me → es beruhigt mich sehr, dass Sie da sind; it is a comfort to know that … → es ist tröstlich or beruhigend zu wissen, dass …; it is no comfort or of little comfort to know that … → es ist nicht sehr tröstlich zu wissen, dass …; some comfort you are! (iro) → das ist ja ein schöner Trost! (iro), → du bist gut! (iro); small comfort → schwacher Trost; a pipe is a great comfort → Pfeiferauchen hat etwas sehr Beruhigendes; your poems brought a little comfort to my life → Ihre Gedichte haben ein wenig Trost in mein Leben gebracht; too close for comfort → bedrohlich nahe

vt (= console) → trösten; the child needed a lot of comforting → es dauerte eine ganze Weile, bis das Kind sich trösten ließ; he stayed with the injured man to comfort him → er blieb bei dem Verletzten, um ihm Beistand zu leisten; the hot soup comforted him a little → nach der heißen Suppe fühlte er sich etwas wohler

comfort

comfort shopping

n → Frustkauf m (inf), → Frustkäufe pl (inf)

comfort station

n (US) → Bedürfnisanstalt f, → öffentliche Toilette

comfort zone

n Bereich, in dem man sich sicher fühlt; two goals in two minutes put Rangers in the comfort → nach zwei Toren in zwei Minuten fühlten Rangers sich sicher

comfy

adj (+er) (inf) chair → bequem; hotel, flat, room → gemütlich; are you comfort? → sitzt/liegst du bequem?; make yourself comfort → machen Sie es sich (dat) → bequem or gemütlich (inf)

comic

adj → komisch; comfort actor → Komödiendarsteller(in) m(f), → Komöde m (geh); comfort verse → humoristische Gedichte pl

(= person) → Komiker(in) m(f)

(= magazine) → Comicheft(chen) nt

(US) comforts → Comics pl

comical

adj, comically

adv → komisch, ulkig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

comfort

[ˈkʌmfət]

1. n

a. (physical comfort) → comodità f inv, benessere m
to live in comfort → vivere nell'agiatezza
that car was a bit too close for comfort → quella macchina è passata troppo vicino per i miei gusti

b. (solace) → consolazione f, conforto
you're a great comfort to me → mi sei di gran conforto

2. vt → confortare, consolare

comfort

(ˈkamfət) noun

1. a pleasant condition of being physically or mentally relaxed, happy, warm etc. They now live in comfort.

2. anything that provides a little luxury, or makes one feel happier, or better able to bear misfortune. He enjoyed the comforts of the hotel; Her presence was a comfort to him in his grief; words of comfort.

ˈcomfortable adjective

1. in comfort; pleasantly relaxed. He looked very comfortable in his chair.

2. producing a good physical feeling. a comfortable chair.

3. financially secure without being rich. a comfortable standard of living.

ˈcomfortably adverb

ˈcomforting adjective

producing a pleasant or relaxed feeling. a comforting thought.

be comfortably off

to have enough money to live in comfort.

comfort

n. comodidad, alivio, bienestar;

vt. confortar, alentar.

comfort

n comodidad f, confort m; (emotional) consuelo; — zone zona de confort; vt consolar

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

The firmness and constancy of a true friend is a circumstance so extremely delightful to persons in any kind of distress, that the distress itself, if it be only temporary, and admits of relief, is more than compensated by bringing this comfort with it.

View in context

Because a laugh's the wisest, easiest answer to all that's queer; and come what will, one comfort's always left -- that unfailing comfort is, it's all predestinated.

View in context

With a letter in her outstretched hand, and countenance gaily smiling, from the persuasion of bringing comfort, she entered their room, saying,

View in context

But they had no means of ascertaining the truth: for any question or entreaty on their parts only provoked a storm of execrations, or something worse; and they were too happy to be left alone, unassailed by threats or admiration, to risk even that comfort, by any voluntary communication with those who held them in durance.

View in context

Some scruples and some reluctance the widowerfather may be supposed to have felt; but as they were overcome by other considerations, the child was given up to the care and the wealth of the Churchills, and he had only his own comfort to seek, and his own situation to improve as he could.

View in context

God has sent me a soul to educate for heaven, and give me a new and calmer bliss, and stronger hopes to comfort me.

View in context

I left him, miserable enough, leaning on the sill of my window, with his face hidden in his hands and Penelope peeping through the door, longing to comfort him.

View in context

For just when one needs them most of all they seem suddenly to have grown dull and unsympathetic, not a word of comfort, not a charm anywhere in them to make us forget the slow-moving hours; whereas, when Margaret was here--but it is of no use to say any more!

View in context

Well, whatever may be his fate, we have the comfort of knowing that we have done our utmost to save him.

View in context

For now the shadow of a real trouble had come, the little books were full of help and comfort, and as they dressed, they agreed to say goodbye cheerfully and hopefully, and send their mother on her anxious journey unsaddened by tears or complaints from them.

View in context

It will be a comfort to me to tell you how things now are, and what are my present plans, if plans I can be said to have.

View in context

Pay no attention to this, Makar Alexievitch; for the love of God, be comforted. Also, the incident between you and the officers has much alarmed me, although I had heard certain rumours concerning it.