disconcert
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to disturb the composure of
-
to frustrate or upset
Synonym Usage
See confuse.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disconcert
From the obsolete French word disconcerter, dating back to 1680–90. See dis- 1, concert
Explanation
To disconcert is to unsettle someone, or make them feel confused and out of sorts. Finding a soup ladle in your sock drawer would definitely disconcert you! Disconcert comes from the old French word disconcerter, meaning "confused." The prefix dis means "not" — it has a bad attitude and shows up in words like disagree and disown. The second part of the word comes from the verb concerter, "to bring together." If you disconcert someone, you make them feel uncomfortable and maybe a little embarrassed.
Vocabulary lists containing disconcert
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Graceling
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Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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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.
Djokovic's on-court aura can disconcert many younger opponents and Alexander Zverev, often described as the best player of his generation to have never won a major, is one of them.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
“Not a smile. It’s not the smile that will disconcert me. Not at all. Or his eyes that will make me afraid. Because I’m not afraid of him.”
From Seattle Times • Oct. 1, 2017
Clark wants to make us recognise the difficulty and strangeness of Picasso's modernism: yes, of course, Picasso is an artist who should shock and disconcert you, if you are looking at him properly.
From The Guardian • Jul. 10, 2013
The poem's athletic feats of wit may entertain readers, or disconcert them, but it has a purpose beyond rhetoric: it is an act of mourning ... and, maybe, an act of self-heartening, too.
From Slate • Dec. 11, 2012
He didn’t like it, so he thought he’d disconcert her.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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.
