disconcert
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to disturb the composure of
-
to frustrate or upset
Synonym Usage
See confuse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disconcertsimple
-
disconcertssimple
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have disconcertedperfect
-
has disconcertedperfect
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am disconcertingprogressive
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are disconcertingprogressive
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is disconcertingprogressive
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have been disconcertingperfect progressive
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has been disconcertingperfect progressive
Past
-
disconcertedsimple
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had disconcertedperfect
-
was disconcertingprogressive
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were disconcertingprogressive
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had been disconcertingperfect progressive
Future
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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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.
See Examples For:
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
In Twin Peaks “they tend to disconcert us because there is something ‘off’ about them.”
From The Guardian ● Apr. 8, 2020
“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
Perhaps her ghostly voice will both comfort and disconcert her beloved Faith, but I assure you, the dog will cope.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2014
To faze is to disconcert or embarrass; it comes from a Middle English word, fesen, which meant “drive away” or “put to flight.”
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
If it disconcerts you to see Clemson quarterback D.J.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 3, 2021
That shift in focus disconcerts consumer advocates, who are in favor of better financial education, but not at the expense of oversight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2019
As he’s driving home from work, a song comes on the radio that disconcerts him and triggers a whole train of thought.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 6, 2017
What disconcerts me sometimes is what’s expected of the genre.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 20, 2014
The silence and the intimacy of the room disconcerts him.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Even Emily Blunt was publicly disconcerted, begging Hollywood agencies to “please stop taking away our human connection.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
“And that’s good. I think a judge should be disconcerted by what he does.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
They are disconcerted by the prospect of apex predators roaming their territory, including on popular trails.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2024
Even Danny Danon, a Netanyahu ally and former Israeli ambassador to the U.N. who recently predicted a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia in 2023, seemed disconcerted.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 11, 2023
They all turn to look at RON, he’s briefly disconcerted but batters on.
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
There’s also a malevolent private eye played by Raymond Burr in the disconcerting role that made him a star.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Not only is the narrative in this “Animal Farm” not the story you knew it to be, but its social implications could be far more disconcerting than a simple change of ideology.
From Salon ● May 3, 2026
But with the start of the 2026 season came disconcerting news.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
Interviewed on the podcast Top Traders Unplugged, White sketched out the problems facing advanced economies at present and delivered a disconcerting warning of the systemic failure he thinks may be in the offing.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
He’d opened windows before to find himself above the ground of another world, so he shouldn’t have been surprised to find he was underground for a change, but it was disconcerting.
From "The Amber Spyglass" 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.
