disabuse

[ dis-uh-byooz ]

/ ˌdɪs əˈbyuz /

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See synonyms for disabuse on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), dis·a·bused, dis·a·bus·ing.

to free (a person) from deception or error.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of disabuse

From the French word désabuser, dating back to 1605–15. See dis-¹, abuse

OTHER WORDS FROM disabuse

dis·a·bus·al, noun

Words nearby disabuse

disable, disabled, disabled list, disablement benefit, disablism, disabuse, disaccharidase, disaccharide, disaccord, disaccredit, disaccustom

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use disabuse in a sentence

Nothing could be farther from the truth, and a closer look at data can help disabuse us of this notion.
Three factors that will determine the timing and magnitude of India’s third wave of Covid-19|Shahid Jameel|July 15, 2021|Quartz
Meghan and Harry recognize that—indeed, in their interview they went out of their way to disabuse any notion that the Queen was to blame for their treatment.
Meghan and Harry’s Interview Won’t End the Monarchy. But a Reckoning Is Coming|Dan Stewart|March 9, 2021|Time
We must disabuse ourselves of this perhaps half-ironic but still telling aphorism.
There Are Only Atheists in Fox Holes|Michael Carson|October 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As a former agent himself, Horrigan hopes to disabuse renters of the notion that brokers are mercenary con artists.
From a Broken Lease, a Dream NYC Home|Lizzie Crocker|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He said he wanted to disabuse anyone who thinks the administration has “a bunch of other rabbits in our hat” to ward off default.
Obama at the Shutdown Press Conference: ‘Lord Knows I’m Tired of It’|Eleanor Clift|October 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
No amount of sweet-sounding oratory is going to disabuse him of his hard-driving partisan agenda.
What Obama Should Say on Monday|Paul Begala|January 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
You'd be surprised how often my fellow British Jews are required to disabuse U.S. friends of such delusions.
What U.S. Jews Don’t Get About European Anti-Semitism|Jonathan Freedland|January 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Of this view we had to disabuse them, and in consequence found them all very tiresome.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921|Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
“And disabuse your mind of those fancies, George,” he said, as they walked down to the gate.
The Mynns' Mystery|George Manville Fenn
Do you think it is not possible, by the interposition of friends, to disabuse your unfortunate husband?
Memoirs of Miss Sidney Biddulph|Frances Sheridan
I wished either to convince myself absolutely upon these points or to disabuse my mind of all prejudice.
Fibble, D. D.|Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb
Well, I shall not disabuse them of their beliefs concerning me.
Marjorie Dean College Freshman|Pauline Lester

British Dictionary definitions for disabuse

disabuse

/ (ˌdɪsəˈbjuːz) /

verb

(tr usually foll by of) to rid (oneself, another person, etc) of a mistaken or misguided idea; set right

Derived forms of disabuse

disabusal, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

disabuse

Origin of disabuse

OTHER WORDS FROM disabuse

Words nearby disabuse

Words related to disabuse

How to use disabuse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for disabuse

Derived forms of disabuse