noun
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the act of deranging or state of being deranged
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disorder or confusion
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psychiatry a mental disorder or serious mental disturbance
Etymology
Origin of derangement
From the French word dérangement, dating back to 1730–40. See derange, -ment
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.
A cure for trade-deficit derangement syndrome can’t come too soon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard, the tale of silent film star Norma Desmond’s descent into murderous derangement as her Hollywood comeback stays out of frame, is the other.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
In the 15th century, the befuddled derangement of the English King Henry VI — possibly a hereditary schizophrenia — helped to light the fuse of the Wars of the Roses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2024
The chair of the judges, Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson, said the work was "bold" and "engaging" with a sense of "delirious derangement".
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2023
As I spoke I tried to read the faces of the officers and others in the room, scanning them for sympathy or anger or derangement.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
