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Webster 1913 Edition

Comfortable

Com′fort-a-ble

,
Adj.
[OF.
confortable
.]
1.
Strong; vigorous; valiant.
[Obs.]
Wyclif.
Thy conceit is nearer death than thy powers. For my sake be
comfortable
; hold death a while at the arm’s end.
Shakespeare
2.
Serviceable; helpful.
[Obs.]
Be
comfortable
to my mother, your mistress, and make much of her.
Shakespeare
3.
Affording or imparting comfort or consolation; able to comfort; cheering;
as, a
comfortable
hope
.
“Kind words and comfortable.”
Cowper.
A
comfortable
provision made for their subsistence.
Dryden.
4.
In a condition of comfort; having comforts; not suffering or anxious; hence, contented; cheerful;
as, to lead a
comfortable
life
.
My lord leans wondrously to discontent;
His
comfortable
temper has forsook him:
He is much out of health.
Shakespeare
5.
Free, or comparatively free, from pain or distress; – used of a sick person.
[U. S.]

Com′fort-a-ble

,
Noun.
A stuffed or quilted coverlet for a bed; a comforter; a comfort.
[U. S.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Comfortable

COMFORTABLE

, a.
1.
Being in a state of ease, or moderate enjoyment; as a person after sickness or pain. This is the most common use of the word in the U. States.
2.
Admitting comfort; that may afford comfort.
Who can promise him a comfortable appearance before his dreadful judge?
3.
Giving comfort; affording consolation.
The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable. 2 Sam. 14.
4.
Placing above want and affording moderate enjoyment; as a comfortable provision for old age.

Definition 2024

comfortable

comfortable

English

Adjective

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

  1. (obsolete) Comforting, providing comfort; consolatory. [14th-19thc.]
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, 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 17thc.]
    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 18thc.]
    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 18thc.]
    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

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

comfortable ‎(plural comfortables)

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

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman confortable, from Old French conforter. See comfort.

Pronunciation

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