comfort
part of speech
noun (comfort — uncountable; a comfort, comforts); verb (comfort, comforts, comforted, comforting)
meaning for a pupil
1) Comfort is a pleasant feeling of being relaxed, warm and free from pain or worry. tree →
2) To comfort someone means to make them feel less sad or scared. tree →
3) A comfort is a person or thing that makes you feel better. tree →
4) Comforts are things that make life easy and pleasant, like a warm bed. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life you comfort a friend who is upset with kind words or a hug. In stories comfort shows care between characters. In shops and homes, clothes and chairs are made for comfort. Phrases: «comfort someone», «take comfort in», «in comfort», «a comfort to», «comfort zone», «home comforts», «comfort food», «too close for comfort».
examples
- I comforted my little brother when he fell over. tree →
- The cat was a great comfort to Grandma. tree →
- These shoes are made for comfort, not speed. tree →
- She took comfort in her friends' kind words. tree →
- We sat in comfort by the fire. tree →
- Trying a new sport takes you out of your comfort zone. tree →
- Soup is my favourite comfort food. tree →
- The storm came too close for comfort. tree →
note
Verb is regular: comforted, comforting. Adjective «comfortable» (often said COMF-ta-ble). «Comfort» (help, ease) is not «comfit» (a sweet). Comforting someone does not mean making a problem disappear; it means showing you care.
In the corpora
- Rewatching a favourite film is a comfort at any age; grown-ups do it too.
- Good product design is about comfort, strength and use, and a high price can also come from brand and fashion.
- Elephants greet and comfort each other by touching faces and twisting their trunks together.
- Baby elephants stay close to mothers and aunts, who circle them when lions or hyenas come; babies suck their trunks for comfort.
- Elephants comfort a scared elephant by touching it with their trunks and making soft chirping sounds.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «comfort» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.