discomfit

[dis-kuhm-fit]

verb (used with object)

1. to confuse and deject; disconcert.

   to be discomfited by a question.

   Synonyms: disturb, embarrass, discompose

2. to frustrate the plans of; thwart; foil.

3. Archaic.,  to defeat utterly; rout.

   The army was discomfited in every battle.

noun

1. Archaic.,  rout; defeat.

discomfit

/ dɪsˈkʌmfɪt /

verb

1. to make uneasy, confused, or embarrassed

2. to frustrate the plans or purpose of

3. archaic,  to defeat in battle

Other Word Forms

• discomfiter noun
• undiscomfited adjective
• discomfiture noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of discomfit¹

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; confect

Word History and Origins

Origin of discomfit¹

C14: from Old French desconfire to destroy, from des- (indicating reversal) + confire to make, from Latin conficere to produce; see _confect

Example Sentences

The weed that is now a discomfiting menace was once a rarity.

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And the revisions pertaining to Jocasta’s marriage to Laius, who was killed in a car accident decades before, bring a discomfiting and topical contemporary edge.

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His calm and deadpan delivery of Teddy’s crazy talk gives it a discomfiting authority.

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The author says Prescott was in a "class of his own when it came to discomfiting Charles".

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I came away from “Notes to John” feeling discomfited and saddened — though literary scholars may read it as providing context with which to deconstruct a great writer’s oeuvre.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• demoralize 
• disconcert 
• perplex 
• vex