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Synonyms

disconnect

American  
[dis-kuh-nekt] / ˌdɪs kəˈnɛkt /

verb (used with object)

disconnected, disconnecting

  1. to sever or interrupt the connection of or between; detach.

    They disconnected the telephone. We were disconnected.

verb (used without object)

disconnected, disconnecting

  1. to sever or terminate a connection, as of a telephone; hang up.

    State your business and disconnect.

  2. to withdraw into one's private world.

    When social pressures become too great, she simply disconnects.

noun

  1. an act or instance of disconnecting, especially the suspension of telephone or cable TV service for nonpayment of service charges.

  2. a lack of communication or agreement.

    There is a huge disconnect between management and employees.
disconnect British  
/ ˌdɪskəˈnɛkt /

verb

  1. (tr) to undo or break the connection of or between (something, such as a plug and a socket)

"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

noun

  1. a lack of a connection; disconnection

    a disconnect between political discourse and the public
"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

Other Word Forms

  • disconnecter noun
  • disconnection noun
  • disconnective adjective
  • disconnectiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of disconnect

First recorded in 1760–70; dis- 1 + connect

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.

These Olympics appear to be the most disconnected ever.

From Los Angeles Times

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Thursday that investigators discovered blood on the porch of Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Ariz., home and determined that her doorbell camera had disconnected shortly after 1:45 a.m.

From The Wall Street Journal

“It feels like I’m watching or I got someone else’s memories,” said Liu, who had similar, disconnected, but overall positive memories of her Olympic experience in Beijing.

From Los Angeles Times

It wasn’t that I hadn’t been able to see them from the master’s place, but I’d felt a disconnect there from everything, including the beauty of the natural world that was all around me.

From Literature

“People shouldn’t care to hear my opinion. I didn’t have a phone for 18 months… I hate to be the artist that’s that aloof, but I’m so disconnected from what’s happening.”

From Salon

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.