comfort

[ kuhm-fert ]
/ ˈkʌm fərt /

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of comfort

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English comfortien, variant of confortien, conforten < Anglo-French, Old French conforter < Late Latin confortāre to strengthen, equivalent to con- con- + -fortāre verbal derivative of Latin fortis strong; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French, noun derivative of the v.

synonym study for comfort

1. Comfort, console, relieve, soothe imply assuaging sorrow, worry, discomfort, or pain. To comfort is to lessen the sadness or sorrow of someone and to strengthen by inspiring with hope and restoring a cheerful outlook: to comfort a despairing person. 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. Relieve means to lighten, lessen, or remove pain, trouble, discomfort, or hardship: to relieve a needy person. Soothe means to pacify or calm: to soothe a child. 8. See ease.

OTHER WORDS FROM comfort

com·fort·less, adjective un·com·fort·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH comfort

comfit comfort

Example sentences from the Web for comfort

British Dictionary definitions for comfort

comfort
/ (ˈkʌmfət) /

noun

verb (tr)

to ease the pain of; soothe; cheer
to bring physical ease to

Derived forms of comfort

Word Origin for comfort

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

Idioms and Phrases with comfort

comfort

see cold comfort; creature comforts; too close for comfort.