Soothe comfort
Hi. Please tell me if soothe is natural here?
He told me that the cancer was incurable and that I shouldn't expect to be alive in a year. We stepped out of the office and the doctor gave me a gentle smile. I think it was to soothe me, but I was already calm. Weirdly so. Probably because I had prepared myself for this.
By the way, what is the difference between soothe and comfort?
Top answer
I think you're OK. There is not much difference between the two words in this context. "Comfort" is usual.
- I think you're OK.
- There is not much difference between the two words in this context.
- "Comfort" is usual.
- His being a doctor conjures the wrong connotations of "soothe" somewhat, like soothing the pain of a wound, and we normally don't soothe a person but the thing that is wrong with the person.
- but those just provide a bit of dissonance if you want it.
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I think you're OK. There is not much difference between the two words in this context. "Comfort" is usual. His being a doctor conjures the wrong connotations of "soothe" somewhat, like soothing the pain of a wound, and we normally don't soothe a person but the thing that is wrong with the person. but those just provide a bit of dissonance if you want it.
0anonymous difference between soothe and comfort
They are sometimes used in similar ways, but sometimes only one is possible, for example:
Intervention on the part of the British government helped soothe this agitation.
Nobody would say or write "comfort this agitation".
Check out the details in a good dictionary.
CJ
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