disillusioned
Britishadjective
Explanation
People who are disillusioned have lost their illusions. This is usually meant in a negative way, as disillusioned people tend to be a little bitter. When you're disillusioned, you're wiser but not necessarily happier: you've learned from experience that life isn't always how you'd like it to be. Getting divorced could leave you disillusioned about marriage and love. Finding out a teacher cheated could leave you disillusioned about education. We all are disillusioned at some point, and it's usually a bit depressing. Often, ignorance really is bliss.
Vocabulary lists containing disillusioned
Power Prefix: dis-
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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.
There were also repeated warnings about the public becoming disillusioned with politics.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
He sees a willing partner in the EU and is not concerned that young people who danced through the night on 12 April will become disillusioned, after they return to continue celebrating this weekend.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Still, he recognizes the correlations between himself, an aging gay artist with a complex legacy, and the far more disillusioned Julian.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
If there is a central dramatic question at play, it’s when this poor soul will be disillusioned, and whether that will come too late.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
By the time Scruggs was ready to leave Vietnam, he was bitter and disillusioned.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
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.
