dement

[dih-ment]

verb (used with object)

Obsolete.

1. to make mad or insane.

dement

/ dɪˈmɛnt /

verb

1. (intr) to deteriorate mentally, esp because of old age

2. rare,  (tr) to drive mad; make insane

Word History and Origins

Origin of dement¹

1535–45; < Late Latin dēmentāre to deprive of mind, equivalent to Latin dēment- (stem of dēmēns ) out of one's mind ( dē- de- + ment- (stem of mēns ) mind) + -āre infinitive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of dement¹

C16: from Late Latin dēmentāre to drive mad, from Latin _de- + mēns mind

Example Sentences

Robinson and Kanin treat comedy similarly to how the Army irradiated part of the Nevada desert with hundreds of nuclear explosions: No interaction is too minor to dement.

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Former colleague Laura Dement wrote on Facebook, "Heartbroken is the only word I can use to describe how I feel. I really don't have words to describe the depth of the feelings."

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“Workin’ on a World” is an album about DeMent’s ongoing quest to find her place, about passing the wisdom of the generation that came before her to the one that follows.

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“It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that song saved my life,” DeMent said.

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That idea is rooted deep in DeMent’s experience growing up in church, and it has inspired all of her albums to some extent, but especially the politically agitated “The Way I Should” and “Lifeline,” a collection of old hymns.

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Related Words

• agitate 
• confuse 
• disconcert 
• disorganize 
• disquiet 
• disrupt 
• disturb 
• perturb 
• rattle 
• unnerve