comfort
American Heritage Dictionary:
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com·fort
(kŭm'fərt) 
tr.v., -fort·ed, -fort·ing, -forts.
tr.v., -fort·ed, -fort·ing, -forts.
- To soothe in time of affliction or distress.
- To ease physically; relieve.
- A condition or feeling of pleasurable ease, well-being, and contentment.
- Solace in time of grief or fear.
- Help; assistance: gave comfort to the enemy.
- One that brings or provides comfort.
- The capacity to give physical ease and well-being: enjoying the comfort of my favorite chair.
- Chiefly Southern & Lower Northern U.S. 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.]
comfortingly com'fort·ing·ly adv.SYNONYMS comfort, console, 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.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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comfort
verb
- To give hope to in time of grief or pain: console, solace, soothe. See help/harm/harmless.
- To make less severe or more bearable: allay, alleviate, assuage, ease, lessen, lighten, mitigate, palliate, relieve. See increase/decrease.
noun
- Steady good fortune or financial security: ease, prosperity, prosperousness. Informal easy street. Idioms: comfortableeasycircumstances, the good life. See rich/poor, thrive/fail/exist.
- A consoling in time of grief or pain: consolation, solace. See help/harm/harmless.
- Anything that increases physical comfort: amenity, convenience, facility (often used in plural). See comfort/discomfort.
Antonyms by Answers.com:
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comfort
n
Definition: aid, help
Antonyms: hindrance, hurt, injury, torment, torture
n
Definition: good feeling; ease
Antonyms: aggravation, annoyance, bother, botheration, distress, exasperation, irritation, torment, torture
v
Definition: make to feel better
Antonyms: aggravate, annoy, bother, distress, exasperate, hurt, irritate, provoke, torment, torture, trouble, vex
Devil's Dictionary:
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comfort
A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce
n.
A state of mind produced by contemplation of a neighbor's uneasiness.
Word Tutor:
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comfort
IN BRIEF: n. - The act of consoling; A state of being relaxed and feeling no pain; A freedom from financial difficulty that promotes a comfortable state.
There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.
— Jane Austen
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Quotes About:
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Comfort
Quotes:
"I'm comfortable being old... being black... being Jewish."
- Billy Crystal
"The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house as a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master."
- Kahlil Gibran
"A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar."
- Lao-Tzu
"No woman has ever so comforted the distressed or distressed the comfortable. [On Eleanor Roosevelt]"
- Clare Boothe Luce
"Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are -- chaff and grain together -- certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away"
- Dinah Mulock
"Do not assume that she who seeks to comfort you now, lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. Her life may also have much sadness and difficulty, that remains far beyond yours. Were it otherwise, she would never have been able to find these words."
- Rainer Maria Rilke
See more famous quotes about Comfort
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'comfort'
- Support, Encouragement, and Agreement - comfort: consolation in time of affliction; feeling of encouragement
See crossword solutions for the clue Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Comfort
For other uses, see Comfort (disambiguation).
Comfort (or comfortability, or being comfortable) is a sense of physical or psychological ease, often characterized as a lack of hardship. A degree of psychological comfort can be achieved by recreating experiences that are associated with pleasant memories, such as engaging in familiar activities,[1] maintaining the presence of familiar objects,[1] and consumption of comfort foods. Comfort is a particular concern in health care, as providing comfort to the sick and injured is one goal of healthcare, and can facilitate recovery.[2] Persons who are surrounded with things that provide psychological comfort may be described as being within their comfort zone. Persons who are lacking in comfort are uncomfortable, or experiencing discomfort.
Because of the personal nature of positive associations, psychological comfort is highly subjective.[2]
The use of "comfort" as a verb generally implies that the subject is in a state of discomfort or affliction. Where the term is used to describe the support given to someone who has experienced a tragedy, the word is synonymous with consolation or solace. However, comfort is used much more broadly, as one can provide physical comfort to someone who is not in a position to be uncomfortable. For example, a person might sit in a chair without discomfort, but still find the addition of a pillow to the chair to increase their feeling of comfort.
Like certain other terms describing positive feelings or abstractions (hope, charity, chastity), comfort may also be used as a personal name.
See also
References
External links
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Translations:
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Comfort
Dansk (Danish)
n. - hjælp, trøst, bekvemmelighed, glæde, duntæppe
v. tr. - trøste, hjælpe
Nederlands (Dutch)
troost, comfort, gemak, warm dekbed, troosten, comfortabel maken
Français (French)
n. - confort, aise, consolation, commodités, bien-être
v. tr. - consoler, réconforter, soulager
Deutsch (German)
n. - Trost, Komfort, Bequemlichkeit
v. - trösten
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - άνεση, βολή, κομφόρ, παρηγοριά
v. - παρηγορώ, ανακουφίζω
Italiano (Italian)
confortare, consolare, riconfortare, conforto, ristoro
Português (Portuguese)
n. - conforto (m), consolação (f), alívio (m), assistência (f)
v. - confortar, aliviar, auxiliar (Jur.)
Русский (Russian)
утешить, комфорт, утешение, удобство
Español (Spanish)
n. - consuelo, comodidad, confort, alivio
v. tr. - consolar, aliviar, confortar
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tröst, lättnad, komfort, trevnad, välstånd
v. - trösta
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
舒适, 安慰者, 安慰, 使缓和
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 舒適, 安慰者, 安慰
v. tr. - 安慰, 使緩和
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 위로, 안락, 침대의 이불
v. tr. - 위로하다, 원조하다
日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 慰める
n. - 慰め, 安ど, 慰めを与えるもの, 快適にするもの, 安楽
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) راحه, سعه, يسر, ترف, رغد, رفاهه, رفاهيه, سلوى, عزا, سلوان (فعل) واسى, عزى, سلى, طيب خاطر
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - נוחיות, נחמה
v. tr. - עודד, ניחם
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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