disengage
Americanverb (used with object)
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to release from attachment or connection; loosen; unfasten.
to disengage a clutch.
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to free (oneself ) from an engagement, pledge, obligation, etc..
He accepted the invitation, but was later forced to disengage himself.
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Military. to break off action with (an enemy).
verb (used without object)
verb
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to release or become released from a connection, obligation, etc
press the clutch to disengage the gears
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military to withdraw (forces) from close action
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fencing to move (one's blade) from one side of an opponent's blade to another in a circular motion to bring the blade into an open line of attack
Other Word Forms
- disengaged adjective
- disengagedness noun
- self-disengaging adjective
Etymology
Origin of disengage
1605–15; < Middle French desengager, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + engager to engage
Explanation
To disengage means to "free or disentangle" yourself or some object from another person or object. No, it doesn't mean breaking off your engagement to your beloved — that's "chickening out." Does your mind wander when someone (your fiancé, for example) talks to you? Well, your mind can disengage as well, that is, stop paying attention. Disengage has quite a formal, intellectual ring to it, even if used about a situation as physical as two armies "disengaging from combat." It's a technical term, and faintly clinical; the kind of word frequently used by politicians and diplomats.
Vocabulary lists containing disengage
"The Lottery," Vocabulary from the short story
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"Of Mice and Men"
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A Doll's House
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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.
It also wants reparations for damages and is hoping to get U.S. forces to disengage from the region.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
The tactics are a significant shift for the Pentagon, which has mostly avoided targeting Iraqi militias in recent years, seeking to disengage from a painful conflict once and for all.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
"That's why some young people disengage even if they technically still have access…without peers present, both the social feedback and the mood payoff drop sharply."
From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026
An inquiry into the incident found a series of human errors, including a failure to disengage the ship's autopilot, was the root cause of the crash.
From BBC • Oct. 6, 2025
Lee was thinking: how do we disengage? how do we fall back? where do we hold until Longstreet comes up?
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
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.
