Meanings
- slanguncountablelifestyleA genre of fan fiction in which a character receives comfort from another after or while suffering injury, illness, or a traumatic experience.
Hurt/comfort stories often contain enough gore to send shivers down the back of activists concerned with the conflation of sex and violence.
1993, Cynthia Jenkins, "Menage a Deux", SBF 3, November 1993 (quoted in Henry Jenkins, Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture, New York University Press (2006), page 84)2 more examples
She proposes that writing slash — specifically the hurt/comfort genre, which involves assault, abuse and recovery — provides a therapeutic outlet for genuine, deep feelings of emotional pain.
2002, Will Brooker, Using the Force: Creativity, Community and Star Wars Fans, Continuum, →ISBN, page 137While genres for these stories range from drama to mystery, many stories are classified by their authors as romances or as “hurt/comfort” stories.
2012, Anissa M. Graham, Jennifer C. Garlen, “Sex and the Single Sleuth”, in Lynnette Porter, editor, Sherlock Holmes for the 21st Century: Essays on New Adaptations, McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 30Synonyms: h/c
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA genre of fan fiction in which a character receives comfort from another after or while suffering injury, illness, or a traumatic experience.
Cite this entry
hurt/comfort. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hurt%2Fcomfort
“hurt/comfort.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hurt%2Fcomfort. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hurt/comfort,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hurt%2Fcomfort.
Source: hurt/comfort on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.