discomfort

discomfort — noun

1. a mild unpleasant feeling in your body — such as soreness, tightness, or a sligh

1.nounB1
Definition

a mild unpleasant feeling in your body — such as soreness, tightness, or a slight ache — or in your mind, such as worry, embarrassment, or unease that is not strong enough to be called real pain or distress.

Example

After an hour on the hard floor, Ignacio felt growing discomfort in his lower back.

uncountable, physical discomfort from posture

Tanvi tried to hide her discomfort when the topic of salaries came up at dinner.

uncountable, emotional/social discomfort

Common collocations
  • feel discomfort
  • cause discomfort
  • experience discomfort
  • slight discomfort
  • physical discomfort
  • mental discomfort
  • growing discomfort
  • hide one's discomfort
  • wave of discomfort
Synonyms
  • unease

    More mental/emotional than physical; suggests nervousness or anxiety.

  • ache

    Only physical; a steady, dull pain that lasts.

  • soreness

    Only physical; specifically muscular tenderness from use or injury.

  • embarrassment

    Only social/emotional; the specific feeling of awkwardness in front of others.

Antonyms
  • comfort

    The direct opposite — a state of physical ease and freedom from worry.

  • ease

    Naturalness and relaxation without effort or strain.

Grammar Patterns

feel + discomfort

cause + discomfort

experience + discomfort

a discomfort (countable, specific source)

Usage Note

Usually uncountable when referring to the general feeling. Countable when naming a specific cause or source of discomfort (e.g., the minor discomforts of travel).

Common Mistakes

I have a discomfort in my stomach.
I have some discomfort in my stomach.
Discomfort is usually uncountable; use 'some' or 'a feeling of' instead of 'a'.
The noise caused discomforts to the students.
The noise caused discomfort to the students.
When talking about the general feeling, keep it uncountable even with a plural subject.

discomfort — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Discomfort is the mildest of these four words. It covers both physical sensations (soreness, tightness, a dull ache) and mental states (worry, embarrassment, awkwardness). Unease is almost exclusively mental — a nagging sense that something is wrong, without a physical component. Pain is strictly physical and stronger; it implies suffering that demands attention, whereas discomfort can often be ignored. Distress is the strongest of the group: severe mental or physical suffering that overwhelms a person. For example, a long walk might cause discomfort in your knees, but a broken ankle causes pain; waiting for exam results creates unease, but failing the exam brings distress.

discomfort ↗uneasepain ↗distress ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • cause discomfort
  • feel discomfort
  • experience discomfort
  • show discomfort
  • signs of discomfort
  • a wave of discomfort
  • minor discomforts

Prepositions

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

From Old French desconfort, formed by adding the prefix des- (meaning 'not' or 'away') to conforter ('to strengthen, to comfort'). The original idea was therefore 'lack of strength or support'. The word entered Middle English around the 1300s, at first referring to a loss of courage or hope, and later broadened to include both physical and mental unease.