disabuse
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disabuse
From the French word désabuser, dating back to 1605–15. See dis- 1, abuse
Explanation
Disabuse means to free someone of a belief that is not true. Many teachers of health find that when they teach, they spend as much energy disabusing kids of false beliefs as they do giving them the facts. Disabuse is often connected to the word notion or idea. In singing lessons, you must disabuse young singers of the idea that they can sing better by singing louder. In the first year of college, many people are disabused of the notion that their experiences are universal — by meeting so many people who have had different experiences or come from different backgrounds.
Vocabulary lists containing disabuse
Power Prefix: dis-
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Quiz yourself on these words spoken by the man at the center of the "Laurel" / "Yanny" craze!
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Grade 12, List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Disabuse yourself of the notion that there's this machine out there that just kind of materializes when you say, 'Yes--go!'
From Time Magazine Archive
Disabuse yourself of the notion that there's this machine out there that just kind of materializes when you say, 'Yes � go!'
From Time Magazine Archive
Disabuse, dis-ab-ūz′, v.t. to undeceive: to set right.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Disabuse yourself, too," said she, laughing, "of all this accessorial grandeur, and bear in mind that you 'll not find him dressed in ermine, or surrounded with a collar and badge.
From A Day's Ride A Life's Romance by Lever, Charles James
"Disabuse your mind of that," I told him.
From Edgar Saltus: The Man by Saltus, Marie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
