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comfortable. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
comfortable, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
comfortable in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English comfortable, from Old French confortable, from conforter. By surface analysis, comfort + -able.
Pronunciation
Adjective
comfortable (comparative comfortabler or more comfortable, superlative comfortablest or most comfortable)
- Providing physical comfort and ease; agreeable.
This is the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.
- In a state of comfort and content.
What a great guestroom! I'll be quite comfortable here.
1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., , , →OCLC, page 0016:A great bargain also had been […] the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire. In fact, that arm-chair had been an extravagance of Mrs. Bunting. She had wanted her husband to be comfortable after the day's work was done, and she had paid thirty-seven shillings for the chair.
- Confident; relaxed; not worried about someone or something.
- Amply sufficient, satisfactory.
A comfortable income should suffice to consider oneself rich.
The home team is ahead by a comfortable margin.
2011 September 18, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia”, in BBC Sport:When Hape sauntered over for a try after only three minutes it looked as if England were destined for a comfortable victory, but Georgia are made of sterner stuff, as they showed when running Scotland close in Invercargill last week.
- (obsolete) Comforting, providing comfort; consolatory.
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: , 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 2, member 6, subsection ii:he was going to make away himself; but meeting by chance his master Plotinus, who, perceiving by his distracted looks all was not well, urged him to confess his grief; which when he had heard, he used such comfortable speeches, that he redeemed him e faucibus Erebi […].
1699, John Dryden, Tales from Chaucer:a comfortable provision made for their subsistence
1791, Ann Radcliffe, The Romance of the Forest:The commanding officer readily granted a reprieve, and Louis, who, on the arrival of this letter, had forborne to communicate its contents to Theodore, left it should torture him with false hope, now hastened to him with this comfortable news.
- (obsolete) Strong; vigorous; valiant.
c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :Thy conceit is nearer death than thy powers. For my sake be comfortable; hold death a while at the arm's end.
- (obsolete) Serviceable; helpful.
c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :Be comfortable to my mother, your mistress, and make much of her.
Usage notes
Although the word comfortable looks (etymonically) like one of its senses could be synonymous with consolable, it does not have that sense; the absence of that sense is simply a lexical gap. In parallel, the same is true of comfortability and consolability, as well as uncomfortable and inconsolable.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
providing physical comfort and ease
- Adyghe: рэхьат (rɛḥat)
- Arabic: مُرِيح (murīḥ), وَثِير (waṯīr)
- Egyptian Arabic: مريح (murīḥ)
- Armenian: հարմար (hy) (harmar), հարմարավետ (hy) (harmaravet)
- Belarusian: зру́чны m (zrúčny)
- Bulgarian: удобен (bg) (udoben), комфортен (bg) (komforten)
- Catalan: còmode (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 舒適/舒适 (zh) (shūshì)
- Czech: pohodlný (cs) m
- Danish: bekvem, behagelig, komfortabel
- Dutch: comfortabel (nl), gemakkelijk (nl)
- Esperanto: komforta, komfortiga
- Estonian: mugav
- Finnish: mukava (fi)
- French: confortable (fr)
- Galician: confortábel (gl) m or f
- Georgian: კეთილმოწყობილი (ḳetilmoc̣q̇obili)
- German: komfortabel (de), bequem (de), behaglich (de), kommod (de), gemütlich (de), wohlig (de)
- Greek: άνετος (el) (ánetos)
- Ancient Greek: ἄνετος (ánetos)
- Hebrew: נוח (he) (nóach)
- Hindi: आरामदेह (ārāmdeh)
- Hungarian: kényelmes (hu)
- Interlingua: commode
- Irish: compordach
- Italian: confortevole (it), comodo (it) m
- Japanese: 快適 (ja) (かいてき, kaiteki)
- Khmer: ស្រួល (km) (sruəl)
- Korean: 편하다 (ko) (pyeonhada), 편안하다 (ko) (pyeonanhada)
- Lao: please add this translation if you can
- Latin: commodus
- Latvian: ērts, komfortabls
- Lithuanian: patogus
- Malay: selesa (ms)
- Maori: āhuru, tangatanga, hāneanea, kauawhiawhi
- Norwegian: bekvem, behagelig (no)
- Bokmål: komfortabel (no)
- Nynorsk: komfortabel, behageleg
- Persian: راحت (fa) (râhat)
- Polish: wygodny (pl) m, wygodna f
- Portuguese: confortável (pt)
- Romanian: confortabil (ro), comod (ro)
- Russian: удо́бный (ru) m (udóbnyj), комфорта́бельный (ru) m (komfortábelʹnyj), ую́тный (ru) m (ujútnyj)
- Scots: couthie
- Scottish Gaelic: cofhurtail, socrach, socair, sòlasach
- Serbo-Croatian: ȕdoban (sh)
- Spanish: confortable (es)
- Swedish: bekväm (sv), skön (sv), komfortabel (sv), behaglig (sv)
- Thai: สบาย (th) (sà-baai)
- Turkish: konforlu (tr), rahat (tr)
- Ukrainian: комфо́ртний (komfórtnyj), комфорта́бельний (komfortábelʹnyj), зру́чний (zrúčnyj)
- Urdu: آرام دہ (ārām dih), سکون دہ (sukūn dih)
- Venetian: còmet (vec)
- Welsh: cyfforddus (cy), cysurus (cy)
- Zulu: ntofontofo
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Translations to be checked
Noun
comfortable (plural comfortables)
- (US) A stuffed or quilted coverlet for a bed; a comforter.
Middle English
Etymology
From Old French confortable, from conforter; equivalent to comfort + -able.
Adjective
comfortable
- comfortable
1470–1483 (date produced), Thom̃s Malleorre [i.e., Thomas Malory], “[Launcelot and Guinevere]”, in Le Morte Darthur (British Library Additional Manuscript 59678), [England: s.n.], folio 449, recto:IN Maẏ whan eúý harte floryſhyth́ ⁊ burgruyth́ for as the ſeaſon ys luſty to be holde and comfortable ſo man and woman reioyſyth and gladith of ſom[er] cõmynge wt his freyſhe floures- IN May, when every heart flourisheth and burgeneth; for as the season is lusty to behold, and comfortable, so man and woman rejoice and be glad of summer coming with his fresh flowers.
- strong; vigorous
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)
Descendants