UNCOMFORTABLE

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does uncomfortable mean? 

• UNCOMFORTABLE (adjective)
  The adjective UNCOMFORTABLE has 2 senses:

1. conducive to or feeling mental discomfort

2. providing or experiencing physical discomfort

  Familiarity information: UNCOMFORTABLE used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNCOMFORTABLE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Conducive to or feeling mental discomfort

Context example:

the teacher's presence at the conference made the child very uncomfortable

Similar:

awkward; ill at ease; uneasy (socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner)

disquieting (causing mental discomfort)

ill-fitting (not the right size or shape)

self-conscious (excessively and uncomfortably conscious of your appearance or behavior)

Also:

uneasy (lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance)

Antonym:

comfortable (free from stress or conducive to mental ease; having or affording peace of mind)

Derivation:

uncomfortableness (embarrassment deriving from the feeling that others are critically aware of you)

uncomfortableness (the state of being tense and feeling pain)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Providing or experiencing physical discomfort

Context example:

an uncomfortable day in the hot sun

Similar:

bad; tough (feeling physical discomfort or pain ('tough' is occasionally used colloquially for 'bad'))

comfortless (without comfort)

irritating; painful (causing physical discomfort)

miserable; wretched (characterized by physical misery)

uneasy (relating to bodily unease that causes discomfort)

warm (uncomfortable because of possible danger or trouble)

Attribute:

comfort; comfortableness (a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain)

Antonym:

comfortable (providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief ('comfy' is informal))

 Context examples 

"It is such an uncomfortable feeling to know one is a fool."

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

It is so d—uncomfortable, living at an inn.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

“I meant to be very good, but I am so uncomfortable.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Very uncomfortable she was, and must continue, till she heard from Miss Crawford again.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Emma knew that he was now getting to the Box Hill party, and grew uncomfortable.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

But if you have a dry mouth all or most of the time, it can be uncomfortable and can lead to serious health problems.

(Dry Mouth, NIH: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Disorders)

If I didn't care about doing right, and didn't feel uncomfortable when doing wrong, I should get on capitally.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

One always knows beforehand what the dinner will be, and who will be there; and it is so very uncomfortable not having a carriage of one's own.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Bingley was quite uncomfortable; his sisters declared that they were miserable.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

As the daughter could not have been less than twenty, I can quite imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her father’s young wife.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)