cold comfort

noun

: quite limited sympathy, consolation, or encouragement

Such remonstrances against panic are cold comfort to the working-class people affected …

—Gilbert Taylor

Examples of cold comfort in a Sentence

The good news about the economy is cold comfort to people who have lost their jobs.

Recent Examples on the Web

The fact that oil hasn’t gone to $150 (at least not yet) is cold comfort to Americans who have to spend $100 to fill up their tanks or businesses that have to pay high fuel surcharges to get their deliveries. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026

For a family whose child falls into the remainder, the statewide rating is cold comfort. — Deborah Esther Brooks, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2026

As Anna’s smile dissolves in the final moments, survival is cold comfort. — Jp Mangalindan, Time, 31 July 2026

That’s cold comfort for the hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth residents who signed petitions, and the millions of voters who would otherwise have had a chance to vote on these measures in November. — Robert Cordy, Boston Herald, 19 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cold comfort

• discomfort