disillusioned
Britishadjective
Explanation
People who are disillusioned have lost their illusions. This is usually meant in a negative way, as disillusioned people tend to be a little bitter. When you're disillusioned, you're wiser but not necessarily happier: you've learned from experience that life isn't always how you'd like it to be. Getting divorced could leave you disillusioned about marriage and love. Finding out a teacher cheated could leave you disillusioned about education. We all are disillusioned at some point, and it's usually a bit depressing. Often, ignorance really is bliss.
Vocabulary lists containing disillusioned
Power Prefix: dis-
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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.
Disillusioned with Britain's expanding imperialism, Stanley quit the diplomatic service in 1858 and decided to become a Muslim some months later while travelling in Arabia.
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2026
Disillusioned with subjective, surface-level modes of art-making, Gaines began to question his purpose.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2025
Norm Ornstein is emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and co-author of the bestselling book "One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported."
From Salon • Oct. 14, 2024
Disillusioned by the impermanence of life, Siddhartha engaged in six years of ascetic practice and attained enlightenment at the age of 35 in Bodh Gaya in northeast India.
From Seattle Times • May 11, 2024
Disillusioned with political organizations, he had distilled his thoughts down to three or four basic ideas, on which he built his whole philosophy.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
