# comfort

Pronunciation: US say "KUM-furt" /ˈkʌm.fɚt/; UK say "KUM-fuht" /ˈkʌm.fət/

## Noun

1. A state or feeling of contentment and ease.
   - Simple: A nice, easy feeling when you are relaxed and free from pain or worry.
   - _The retirees live in quiet comfort on a modest pension._
   - _The new office chairs were designed with comfort in mind._
3. Something that provides ease, reassurance, or a sense of well-being.
   - Simple: Something that helps you feel calm, easy, and at home.
   - _For many travelers, a familiar meal in a strange city is real comfort._
   - _Throughout the lonely deployment, letters from home remained her chief comfort._
4. A consolation; something that relieves suffering, grief, or worry.
   - Simple: Something that helps a person feel less sad or worried.
   - _Mourners drew comfort from the stories shared at the memorial._
   - _Neighbors offered what comfort they could after the fire destroyed the family's home._
5. A cause or source of relief or satisfaction.
   - Simple: Something that makes you feel better or pleased about a situation.
   - _Investors found comfort in the company's steady quarterly numbers._
   - _The pilot's calm announcement provided some comfort during the turbulence._

## Verb

2. To relieve the distress or suffering of someone; to soothe or console.
   - Simple: To help someone feel better when they are sad, hurt, or upset.
   - _Nurses comfort anxious patients before surgery with quiet, patient explanations._
   - _He comforted the grieving widow with stories of her husband's kindness._

## Verb

6. To make strong or strengthen; to invigorate or fortify; also, to confirm or corroborate. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a person or thing stronger, or to give new energy.
7. To assist or help someone; to give aid or support. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To help someone or give them support and aid.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–5** — From Middle English comfort, from Old French cunfort or confort, which came from the stem of Late Latin confortō. It replaced the Old English word frofor.
**Meanings 2, 6–7** — From Middle English comforten, from Old French conforter, from Late Latin confortō ('to strengthen greatly'), itself from Latin con- ('together') plus fortis ('strong').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/comfort (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).