Stephen Crane
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Disconcerted by discomfit and discomfort? While the two look similar and share some semantic territory, they’re etymologically unrelated. Unlike discomfort, discomfit has no connection to comfort, which comes ultimately from the Latin adjective fortis, meaning “strong.” Instead, discomfit was borrowed from Anglo-French in the 13th century with the meaning “to defeat in battle.” Within a couple centuries, discomfit had expanded beyond the battlefield to mean “to thwart,” a meaning that eventually softened into the now-common “to disconcert or confuse” use—one quite close to the uneasiness and annoyance communicated by discomfort. For a time, usage commentators were keen to keep a greater distance between discomfit and discomfort; they recommended that discomfit be limited to its original “to defeat” meaning, but they’ve largely given up now, and the “disconcert or confuse” meaning is fully established. There is one major difference between discomfit and discomfort, though: discomfit is used almost exclusively as a verb, while discomfort is much more commonly used as a noun than a verb.
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Examples of discomfit in a Sentence
Noëlle McAfee, Scientific American, 13 June 2024
Although Ellis keeps Shanley’s play feeling fairly digestible, there are moments, as when Bernstine is on stage, when the discomfiting thrum of its title can still be felt.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024
Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2022
See all Example Sentences for discomfit 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'discomfit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near discomfit
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“Discomfit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discomfit. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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