disillusion
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disillusionsimple
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disillusionssimple
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have disillusionedperfect
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has disillusionedperfect
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am disillusioningprogressive
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are disillusioningprogressive
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is disillusioningprogressive
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have been disillusioningperfect progressive
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has been disillusioningperfect progressive
Past
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disillusionedsimple
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had disillusionedperfect
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was disillusioningprogressive
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were disillusioningprogressive
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had been disillusioningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disillusion
Explanation
To disillusion is to make someone realize their belief isn't true. If your cousin believes that the Tooth Fairy will come in the night, take her tooth and sprinkle her with fairy dust. It would be too cruel to disillusion her. When you disillusion someone, you take away a false belief, or an illusion. Your parents' divorce might disillusion your romantic ideas of marriage, and a political candidate you supported enthusiastically could disillusion if she doesn't follow through on her promises. The disappointment you feel as a result of being disillusioned is also called disillusion, like the disillusion that results when your older sister tells you the truth about the Easter Bunny.
Vocabulary lists containing disillusion
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Toni Morrison (1931–2019) Tribute List
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Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 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.
Disillusion warns her that the road to salvation is to face the facts.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2025
Time and Disillusion remain abstractions up to the point when we dare no longer fool ourselves.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2025
Disillusion comes when she discovers that Vivien isn’t a doctor but, rather, an unemployed receptionist with prospects as limited as her own.
From The New Yorker • Feb. 5, 2017
Disillusion and discontentment filled England in 1989 in both politics and sport, resulting in the infamous graffiti: "Thatcher Out lbw b Alderman".
From The Guardian • Apr. 9, 2013
Disillusion him a little, and—” “Oh, stop!” cried Jill, with the first real display of feeling that she had shown throughout the interview.
From The Triumph of Jill by Young, F.E. Mills
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.
