Uncomfortable

How to spell uncomfortable

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce uncomfortable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does uncomfortable mean?

1. adjectiveCausing physical unease or awkward feelings, or feeling that unease.

Uncomfortable in a sentence

• The long flight in a cramped seat left her feeling uncomfortable for days.

• He found the silence in the interview room deeply uncomfortable.

Where does uncomfortable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on 'comfort', which travelled into English in the 1200s from Old French 'conforter', meaning 'to strengthen' or 'to console'. That French verb came from Late Latin 'confortare', formed from the intensifying prefix 'com-' and 'fortis', meaning 'strong'; so the literal idea was to make someone strong again, or to cheer them up. Over time the noun 'comfort' shifted from 'strengthening' toward the modern sense of ease and physical well-being. English then attached its own native prefix 'un-' (meaning 'not') and the suffix '-able' (meaning 'capable of'), giving 'uncomfortable' by the 1500s. The hidden 'fortis' root is also why words like 'fort', 'force', and 'fortitude' all carry that same sense of strength, and remembering the buried 'comfort' inside the word helps fix the tricky middle '-fort-' spelling.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• comfort (Latin fortis: strong)
• -able (capable of being)