Comforted

How to spell comforted

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce comforted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does comforted mean?

1. verbSoothed or consoled someone in distress, easing their grief or worry.

Comforted in a sentence

• The nurse comforted the frightened patient before the operation.

• She felt comforted once her family arrived at the hospital.

Where does comforted come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb confortare, meaning 'to strengthen greatly', built from the intensive prefix com- ('thoroughly') and the adjective fortis ('strong'), the same root that gives us 'fort', 'force', and 'fortitude'. The original idea was physical: to make someone strong again, to brace or encourage them. English took the word through Old French conforter in the 1200s, and for centuries 'comfort' kept the sense of strengthening or rallying someone in trouble. Over time the emotional softening took over, so that to be comforted came to mean being soothed and consoled rather than literally strengthened. The spelling keeps the hidden 'fort' inside, which is a helpful reminder that the comfort once meant giving someone strength.

How the word is built

• com- (intensive, 'thoroughly')
• fort (strong, from Latin fortis)
• -ed (past tense)