comfortable

English

Etymology

Borrowing from Old French confortable, from conforter. See also comfort.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Canada)
  • enPR: kŭmf'təbl, kŭmf'tərbl, kŭm'fətəbl, kŭm'fərtəbl
  • IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmft.əb.əl/, /ˈkʌmft.ɚb.əl/, /ˈkʌmf.əɾ.əb.əl/, /ˈkʌmf.ɚɾ.əb.əl/
• (Received Pronunciation)
  • enPR: kŭmf'təbl, kŭm'fətəbl
  • IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmft.əb.əl/, /ˈkʌmf.ət.əb.əl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

comfortable (comparative comfortabler or more comfortable, superlative comfortablest or most comfortable)

1. (obsolete) Comforting, providing comfort; consolatory. [14^th-19^thc.]
   • 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy, Oxford: Printed by Iohn Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 216894069:, II.2.6.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 […].

   • John Dryden (1631-1700)

     a comfortable provision made for their subsistence

2. Amply sufficient, satisfactory. [from 17^thc.]

   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.

3. Providing physical comfort and ease; agreeable. [from 18^thc.]

   This is the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in.

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 8, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     We toted in the wood and got the fire going nice and comfortable. Lord James still set in one of the chairs and Applegate had cabbaged the other and was hugging the stove.

4. In a state of comfort and content. [from 18^thc.]

   What a great guestroom! I'll be quite comfortable here.

   • 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter I:

     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.

5. (obsolete) Strong; vigorous; valiant.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wyclif to this entry?)

   • William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)

     Thy conceit is nearer death than thy powers. For my sake be comfortable; hold death a while at the arm's end.

6. (obsolete) Serviceable; helpful.
   • William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)

     Be comfortable to my mother, your mistress, and make much of her.

Synonyms

• (providing/enjoying comfort): comforting, comfy, cozy, eathful, restful, snug, cushy
• (safely reliable): safe

Antonyms

• comfortless, uncomfortable

Derived terms

Terms derived from comfortable

• comfortability
• comfortable as an old shoe

• comfortable in one's own skin
• comfortableness

• comfortably
• comfy

Related terms

• comforter
• discomfort

Translations

amply sufficient

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 充分 (zh) (chōngfèn), 足夠 (zh), 足够 (zh) (zúgòu)

• Czech: pohodlný (cs) m
• Esperanto: sufiĉa (eo), oportuna (eo)

• Finnish: turvallinen (fi)
• Italian: comodo (it) m
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

providing physical comfort and ease

• Arabic: مُرِيح‏‎ (murīḥ), وَثِير‏‎ (waṯīr)
• Armenian: հարմար (hy) (harmar)
• Belarusian: зру́чны m (zrúčny)
• Bulgarian: удобен (bg) (udoben), комфортен (bg) (komforten)
• Catalan: còmode (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 舒適 (zh), 舒适 (zh) (shūshì)

• Czech: pohodlný (cs) m
• Dutch: comfortabel (nl), gemakkelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: komforta, komfortiga
• Estonian: mugav
• Finnish: mukava (fi)
• French: confortable (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: komfortabel (de), bequem (de), behaglich (de), kommod (de)
• Greek: άνετος (el) (ánetos)
• Hindi: आरामदेह (ārāmdeh)
• Interlingua: commode
• Irish: compordach
• Italian: confortevole, comodo (it) m
• Japanese: 快適 (かいてき, kaiteki)
• Khmer: ស្រួល (km) (sruəl)

• Korean: 편하다 (ko) (pyeonhada)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: ērts, komfortabls
• Malay: selesa
• Maori: āhuru, tangatanga, hāneanea, kauawhiawhi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: komfortabel (no)

  Nynorsk: komfortabel

• 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)
• Urdu: آرام دہ‏‎ (ārāmdeh)
• Venetian: còmet (vec)
• Welsh: cyfforddus (cy), cysurus (cy)

in a state of comfort

• Arabic: مُرْتَاح‏‎ (murtāḥ)
• Armenian: հարմար (hy) (harmar)
• Bulgarian: уютен (bg) (ujuten), удобен (bg) (udoben)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 舒服 (syu¹ fuk⁶)

  Mandarin: 舒服 (zh) (shūfu)

• Czech: v (cs) pohodlí
• Dutch: comfortabel (nl), gemakkelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: komfortanta
• Finnish: mukava (fi)

• German: gemütlich (de)
• Greek: άνετος (el) (ánetos)
• Italian: comodo (it) m
• Japanese: 気楽 (きらく, kiraku), 安楽 (あんらく, anraku)
• Khmer: ស្រួល (km) (sruǝl)
• Latvian: ērts
• Portuguese: confortável (pt)
• Russian: удо́бный (ru) m (udóbnyj), комфорта́бельный (ru) m (komfortábelʹnyj), ую́тный (ru) m (ujútnyj)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: bekväm (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} надежден (bg) (nadežden), ^{(please verify)} достатъчен (bg) (dostatǎčen), ^{(please verify)} задоволителен (bg) (zadovolitelen)
• Danish: (1) ^{(please verify)} bekvem, (1,2) ^{(please verify)} komfortabel, (2) ^{(please verify)} solid
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} comfortabel (nl), ^{(please verify)} veilig (nl)
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} נוח‏‎ m (noakh), ^{(please verify)} נוחה‏‎ f (nokha) (1,2)
• Maori: ^{(please verify)} haumaru

• Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} socrach, ^{(please verify)} socair
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} confortable (es), ^{(please verify)} cómodo (es)
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} సౌకర్యవంతమైన (saukaryavaṃtamaina)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} rahat (tr)
• Zulu: ^{(please verify)} -thulile

Noun

comfortable (plural comfortables)

1. (US) A stuffed or quilted coverlet for a bed; a comforter.