dishevel
Americanverb (used with object)
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to let down, as hair, or wear or let hang in loose disorder, as clothing.
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to cause untidiness and disarray in.
The wind disheveled the papers on the desk.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dishevel
First recorded in 1590–1600; back formation from disheveled
Explanation
To dishevel is to mess up slightly, the way a breeze might dishevel your carefully combed hair. This verb is nearly always used to talk about tousling someone's hair or mussing their clothes or bedding. So you might carefully tuck in your sheets and comforter only to watch your puppy jump on the bed and dishevel them. Or you might reach over and dishevel your little brother's curls when he's looking particularly adorable. The adjective disheveled came first, from the Old French descheveler, "disarrange the hair."
Vocabulary lists containing dishevel
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:
“Know you not ’tis rank treason to discrown our sacred Majesty, far more to dishevel or destroy our locks?
From A Reputed Changeling Or Three Seventh Years Two Centuries Ago by Yonge, Charlotte Mary
I find it clear and very clarifying, after the innumerable hours I have spent in trying to dishevel him.
From The Letters of William James, Vol. II by James, William
With rant and revel My hair I dishevel, And I am the queen of Astrofelle.
From Love Letters of a Violinist and Other Poems by Mackay, Eric
Shake down thy hair and dishevel it, so!—that is excellent.
From The Twilight of the Gods, and Other Tales by Garnett, Richard
Abashed, astounded, the prince retreated a space and looked, with savage intentness, upon the beautiful girl, superb in her denunciation, enchanting in the rebellious dishevel of her hair, the indignant rebuke of her eyes.
From The Flaw in the Sapphire by Snyder, Charles M.
She was underweight with disheveled feathers and feet caked with mud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Also, her feathers were very disheveled, which is not normal for a healthy bird,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Old Town, my slightly disheveled neighborhood of churches, Mexican-adjacent tchotchke shops, is where missionaries established their first mission, colonizing the town that belonged to the country south of the US border.
From Salon ● May 9, 2026
The disheveled 58-year-old, who went by Tony, was a cousin of the recently deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
The camera would love them, no matter what they were wearing or how disheveled their hair had become.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
In this stylish, morally disheveling work, there might be less of a distinction than you think.
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2019
We come, shoe-strings dragging, skirts impeding, wind disheveling, holding on to inappropriate head-gear, feathers awry, victims of old-time convictions, unadapted to modern conditions, amateur marchers, poorly uniformed—but here we come—just count us—here we come!
From The Fifth Wheel A Novel by Prouty, Olive Higgins
On Friday, he flipped his Range Rover on a quiet residential street on Florida's Jupiter Island and the world was treated to another dishevelled mugshot of one of sport's most famous faces.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
The incident led to the publication of a first dishevelled mugshot, a savage contrast to thousands of glorious pictures that had celebrated his status as an all-conquering champion.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
On one occasion, he started crying in front of a manager who told him off for his dishevelled appearance.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2022
Her blue eyes still retained their melting quality; and her yellow hair, dishevelled by the wind and rain, kinked more stubbornly than ever about her ears and temples.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021
“For how long, Jane? For a few minutes, while you smooth your hair—which is somewhat dishevelled; and bathe your face—which looks feverish?”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
That interior was singularly restful, pleasant, after the confused and dishevelling night.
From The Three Black Pennys A Novel by Hergesheimer, Joseph
It was an embarras de richesses rarely met with; and in the rich and precious braids the ivory fingers were clutched, dishevelling them, tearing at them, in the excess of pain.
From Dr. Dumany's Wife by Jókai, Mór
As they descended the stairs, Lord Pomfret emerged from the library, cramming cigarettes into his case with the dishevelling manipulation of the belated swain.
From Anthony Lyveden by Yates, Dornford
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.
