disconcert

[dis-kuhn-surt]

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verb (used with object)

to disturb the self-possession of; perturb; ruffle: Her angry reply disconcerted me completely.

to throw into disorder or confusion; disarrange: He changed his mind and disconcerted everybody's plans.

Nearby words

Origin of disconcert

From the obsolete French word disconcerter, dating back to 1680–90. See dis-¹, concert

SYNONYMS FOR disconcert

1. discompose, perplex, bewilder, abash, discomfit.

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ANTONYMS FOR disconcert

1. calm. 2. arrange.

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Related formsdis·con·cert·ed, adjectivedis·con·cer·tion, dis·con·cert·ment, noun

Synonym study

1. See confuse.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for disconcert

The glance did not disconcert Miss Verney, who returned it with one of equal comprehensiveness.
Sanctuary|Edith Wharton
He knew of nothing, short of falling on the Fourth Alabama, which could disconcert him.
The Young Lieutenant|Oliver Optic
Nothing must disconcert me I said to myself—I must spare no labour, but act a hearty sailor's part and ask for God's countenance.
The Frozen Pirate|W. Clark Russell
But if he had expected for a second to disconcert Madge Hubert he was most ingloriously mistaken.
The Sick-a-Bed Lady|Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

She looked at me and, with that extraordinary penetration which used to disconcert me, shook her head.
Under Western Eyes|Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for disconcert

disconcert

verb (tr)

to disturb the composure of

to frustrate or upset

Derived Formsdisconcertion or disconcertment, 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

Word Origin and History for disconcert

disconcert

1680s, from Middle French disconcerter (Modern French déconcerter) "confused," from dis- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + concerter (see concert). Related: Disconcerted; disconcerting; disconcertingly.