discomfit
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to confuse and deject; disconcert.
to be discomfited by a question.
- Synonyms:
- disturb, embarrass, discompose
-
to frustrate the plans of; thwart; foil.
-
Archaic. to defeat utterly; rout.
The army was discomfited in every battle.
noun
verb
-
to make uneasy, confused, or embarrassed
-
to frustrate the plans or purpose of
-
archaic to defeat in battle
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of discomfit
1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French descunfit, Old French desconfit, past participle of desconfire, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + confire to make, accomplish < Latin conficere; see confect
Explanation
To discomfit someone is to make them feel uncomfortable or upset. An easy way to discomfit another person is to use the age-old, childish trick of ignoring them. (Of course, we’re sure you would never do that, right? Right?) If you make someone blush, sweat, and generally want to disappear, you’ve discomfited her. Centuries ago, discomfit was used to mean “destroy completely in battle” — an experience that surely left the defeated armies feeling something more than mere discomfort. Some scholars have suggested that the contemporary meaning of discomfit arose due to confusion with the word discomfort. Don’t be discomfited by choosing the wrong word; use this word to mean “embarrass.”
Vocabulary lists containing discomfit
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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.
The discomfit of his rivals has been a political gift to Macron.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2022
Warhol also embraced camp as a personal style, performing a theatrical effeminacy that equated to a strategic queerness designed to discomfit those among his contemporaries who held him to be "too swish."
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2022
And the spectacle of nonviolent suffering in a just cause had the potential to discomfit witnesses and render violent and intimidating reprisals less effective.
From Scientific American • Feb. 3, 2021
But if Mr. Torn’s performance is meant to discomfit us in the same way Swan’s performances discomfited them, I’m not sure the equivalence is a justification.
From New York Times • May 2, 2019
Buail to strike, trom heavy—trom-buail to smite sore, discomfit.
From Elements of Gaelic Grammar by Stewart, Alexander
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.
