dishevel

American  

[dih-shev-uhl] / dɪˈʃɛv əl /

verb (used with object)

disheveled, disheveling dishevelled, dishevelling

1. to let down, as hair, or wear or let hang in loose disorder, as clothing.

2. to cause untidiness and disarray in.

   The wind disheveled the papers on the desk.

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dishevel British  

/ dɪˈʃɛvəl /

verb

1. to disarrange (the hair or clothes) of (someone)

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Other Word Forms

• dishevelment noun

Etymology

Origin of dishevel

First recorded in 1590–1600; back formation from disheveled

Example Sentences

Poe was disheveled and wearing shabby, ill-fitting clothes that weren’t his, according to Hal Poe.

From Washington Post

Slumped near a dumpster by the stage door, a disheveled man with a mane of gray hair and a wild beard let out a grunt.

From Seattle Times

The public’s intrigue born from tragedy leaves Batman completely uninterested in being Bruce, which is apparent in how disheveled and zoned-out Pattinson looks when he’s unmasked.

From Washington Post

Over the weekend the statue had suffered attacks from visitors and was looking disheveled, he said.

From Reuters

Nelson, who uses a gender neutral courtesy title, mentioned wanting to “get tickets to the opera, stay out dancing til dawn and read the NYTimes in disheveled sheets in the morning.”

From New York Times