Discomfort

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /dɪsˈkÊŒmfÉ™t/
• US IPA: /dɪsˈkÊŒmfÉšt/

Origin

From Middle English, from Anglo-Norman descomforter

Full definition of discomfort

Noun

1. Mental or bodily distress.
2. Something that disturbs one’s comfort; an annoyance.
• 2013-06-29, Travels and travails, Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.

Verb

1. To cause annoyance or distress to.
2. (obsolete) To discourage; to deject.
• ShakespeareHis funeral shall not be in our camp,
  Lest it discomfort us.

Usage notes

As a verb, the unrelated term discomfit is often used instead, largely interchangeably, though this is proscribed by some as an error, discomfit originally meaning “destroy”, not “distress”.

Derived terms

• discomforter