uncomfortable
adjective
Simple meaning
Not physically comfortable, or feeling awkward and uneasy.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhnkuhmfertuhbuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ənˈkʌmfɚtəbəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Conducive to or feeling mental discomfort
“This kind of life can prove disruptive and uncomfortable.”
Providing or experiencing physical discomfort
Not comfortable; causing discomfort.
Uneasy or anxious.
Put off or disgusted.
Understand the Word
How this word is built, and what each part adds.
Uncomfortable describes physical discomfort, or a situation that makes someone uneasy.
- un-
- not, or without
- comfort
- physical ease or freedom from worry
- -able
- capable of being
Prefix function , Not — expresses absence of the quality
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Conducive to or feeling mental discomfort
Used this way, uncomfortable is a common word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“This kind of life can prove disruptive and uncomfortable.”
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use uncomfortable
- “This kind of life can prove disruptive and uncomfortable.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.