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comforting

 - 4 dictionary results
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com⋅fort⋅ing

  [kuhm-fer-ting]
Use comforting in a Sentence
–adjective
affording comfort or solace.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME; see comfort, -ing 2

Related forms:
com⋅fort⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
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com⋅fort

  [kuhm-fert]
–verb (used with object)
1. to soothe, console, or reassure; bring cheer to: They tried to comfort her after her loss.
2. to make physically comfortable.
3. Obsolete. to aid; support or encourage.
–noun
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. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a comforter or quilt.
11. Obsolete. strengthening aid; assistance.
Origin:
1175–1225; (v.) ME comfortien, var. of confortien, conforten < AF, OF conforter < LL confortāre to strengthen, equiv. to con- con- + -fortāre v. deriv. of L fortis strong; (n.) ME < AF, OF, n. deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
com⋅fort⋅less, adjective

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To comforting
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.

n.  

  1. A condition or feeling of pleasurable ease, well-being, and contentment.

  2. Solace in time of grief or fear.

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

  4. One that brings or provides comfort.

  5. The capacity to give physical ease and well-being: enjoying the comfort of my favorite chair.

  6. 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; see bhergh-2 in Indo-European roots.]
com'fort·ing·ly adv.
Synonyms: 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

comfort  (v.)
c.1280, from O.Fr. conforter "to comfort, help, strengthen," from L.L. confortare "to strengthen much" (used in Vulgate), from L. com- intens. prefix + fortis "strong." The n. (c.1225) replaced O.E. frofor. Comfortable is from c.1340. Comforter "quilted coverlet" is from 1832. Comforts (as opposed to necessities and luxuries) is from 1659; comfy first recorded 1829.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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