disorganize

American

[dis-awr-guh-nahyz] / dɪsˈɔr gəˌnaɪz /

especially British, disorganise

verb (used with object)

to destroy the organization, systematic arrangement, or orderly connection of; throw into confusion or disorder.

disorganize British

/ dɪsˈɔːɡəˌnaɪz /

verb

(tr) to disrupt or destroy the arrangement, system, or unity of

"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

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Etymology

Origin of disorganize

1785–95; < French désorganiser, equivalent to dés- dis- ¹ + organiser to organize

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.

"The enemy loosed his attacks on the central front to disorganize the moves of German reserves."

From Time Magazine Archive

Origin: among typesetters, from the verb "pi" meaning to disorganize hopelessly, as a "pied" line of type: cmfw shrdl cmfwy vbgkq etao ET The original "pied" Piper was so-called from his motley costume.

From Time Magazine Archive

Not to get the resources of Russia for wartime use; war would further disorganize Russia's badly organized productive capacity.

From Time Magazine Archive

He was said to have bribed the Chairman of the Soviet Meat Trust, Professor Alexander Riazanzev, to "disorganize the Soviet food distribution system and promote wholesale famine in Russia."

From Time Magazine Archive

It is, basically, a response to propaganda, something like the panic-producing pheromones that slave-taking ants re lease to disorganize the colonies of their prey.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023