disjointed
Americanadjective
-
having the joints or connections separated.
a disjointed fowl.
-
a disjointed discourse.
- Synonyms:
- unorganized, chaotic, confused, rambling
-
Entomology. disjunct.
adjective
-
having no coherence; disconnected
-
separated at the joint
-
dislocated
Other Word Forms
- disjointedly adverb
- disjointedness noun
- undisjointed adjective
Etymology
Origin of disjointed
Explanation
Disjointed isn’t when you can bend your thumb all the way backwards — that’s double-jointed. Disjointed means "unorganized" or "disconnected." Disjointed is an adjective that describes something as disconnected, illogical, or just messed up. A disjointed argument is an argument that doesn’t make a lot of sense. The same can be said for a disjointed sentence or a disjointed speech. In a medical sense, disjointed means "dislocated," or “separated at the joint.” When someone gets injured, they may end up with a disjointed shoulder or a disjointed hip.
Vocabulary lists containing disjointed
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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The Things They Carried
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Between Shades of Gray
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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.
To evoke the fractured psyche of the characters, Morrison’s narratives are highly disjointed, switching among different points of view and time periods with only the slimmest semantic clues offered for orientation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
But our disjointed, patchwork healthcare-payment system is impossible to understand and out of control.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 26, 2026
A disjointed first half that featured Dent sitting out a long stretch while apparently not feeling well ended in far more upbeat fashion for the Bruins.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026
Stephen Robinson's men were well worth their triumph, while Celtic still looked disjointed at best.
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026
Radar answered me in the disjointed way of someone playing Resurrection.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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.
