Library / English Dictionary

COMFORTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Device used for an infant to suck or bite on

Synonyms:

baby's dummy; comforter; pacifier; teething ring

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("comforter" is a kind of...):

device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)

Derivation:

comfort (lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bedding made of two layers of cloth filled with stuffing and stitched together

Synonyms:

comfort; comforter; puff; quilt

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("comforter" is a kind of...):

bed clothing; bedclothes; bedding (coverings that are used on a bed)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "comforter"):

continental quilt; duvet; eiderdown (a soft quilt usually filled with the down of the eider)

patchwork; patchwork quilt (a quilt made by sewing patches of different materials together)

Derivation:

comfort (lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A person who reduces the intensity (e.g., of fears) and calms and pacifies

Example:

an allayer of fears

Synonyms:

allayer; comforter; reliever

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("comforter" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Derivation:

comfort (give moral or emotional strength to)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A person who commiserates with someone who has had misfortune

Synonyms:

comforter; sympathiser; sympathizer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("comforter" is a kind of...):

communicator (a person who communicates with others)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "comforter"):

Job's comforter (someone whose comfort is actually discouraging)

Derivation:

comfort (give moral or emotional strength to)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Ten years since, I flew through Europe half mad; with disgust, hate, and rage as my companions: now I shall revisit it healed and cleansed, with a very angel as my comforter.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

But conceivably Wilson had heard some of these same explanations before, from Myrtle, because he began saying "Oh, my God!" again in a whisper—his comforter left several explanations in the air.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)