These words mean feeling or conducing to a feeling of contentment, relief or well-being. Comfortable is the most general word in the group and can apply to a variety of personal feelings and to anything that contributes to those feelings.

• I feel very comfortable in this chair; The house is not comfortable tonight because of the high humidity; He makes no more than a barely comfortable income, The patient complained that he had not spent a comfortable night.

Cosy and snug are suggestive of the kind of comfort that comes from warmth, a compact shelter, security and an easy friendliness: to spend a cosy evening in front of a fireplace; a snug holiday cottage that’s just big enough, and isn’t too much of a housekeeping burden for my wife; a snug job that keeps his family well provided for; a cosy dinner party with a few dear old friends.

Restful implies the comfort that comes from being quiet, at rest or in repose. It also describes anything that induces such comfort.

• It was restful to sit on the beach, watching the gentle lapping of the waves; The marketplace was strangely restful at night since no one lived there even though thousands worked in it by day.