comforting

UK: /ˈkʌmfə^rtɪŋ/ US: (kum′fər ting)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

com•fort•ing  (kum′fər ting), adj. 

1. affording comfort or solace.

• 1250–1300; Middle English; see comfort, -ing²

com′fort•ing•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

com•fort /ˈkʌmfɚt/   v. [~ + object]

1. to soothe or reassure;
   bring cheer to;
   console:
   to comfort someone after a loss.
2. to make physically comfortable:
   Her job was to comfort the sick.

n. 

3. words or acts that show concern for someone suffering;
   consolation:
   [uncountable] spoke a few words of comfort to the dying patient.
4. a person or thing that gives consolation or relief:
   [countable] a comfort to her parents in their old age.
5. a state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants:
   [uncountable] a life of comfort.
6. something that promotes such a state:
   [countable] One of his comforts is the color TV in the bathroom.

com•fort•ing•ly, adv. See -fort-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

com•fort  (kum′fərt), v.t. 

1. to soothe, console, or reassure;
   bring cheer to:
   They tried to comfort her after her loss.
2. to make physically comfortable.
3. [Obs.] to aid;
   support or encourage.

n. 

4. relief in affliction;
   consolation;
   solace:
   Her presence was a comfort to him.
5. a feeling of relief or consolation:
   Her forgiveness afforded him great comfort.
6. a person or thing that gives consolation:
   She was a great comfort to him.
7. a cause or matter of relief or satisfaction:
   The patient's recovery was a comfort to the doctor.
8. a state of ease and satisfaction of bodily wants, with freedom from pain and anxiety:
   He is a man who enjoys his comfort.
9. something that promotes such a state:
   His wealth allows him to enjoy a high degree of comfort.
10. Dialect Terms [Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.] a comforter or quilt.
11. [Obs.] strengthening aid;
    assistance.

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

com′fort•less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. pacify, calm, solace, gladden.
  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.
• 1, 2. ease.
• 8. See ease. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

comfort / ˈkʌmfət/ noun

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

verb (transitive)

1. to ease the pain of; soothe; cheer
2. to bring physical ease to

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French confort, from Late Latin confortāre to strengthen very much, from Latin con- (intensive) + fortis strong

ˈcomforting adjective

ˈcomfortless adjective