disorient
[ dis-awr-ee-ent, -ohr- ]
/ dɪsˈɔr iˌɛnt, -ˈoʊr- /
verb (used with object)
to cause to lose one's way: The strange streets disoriented him.
to confuse by removing or obscuring something that has guided a person, group, or culture, as customs, moral standards, etc.: Society has been disoriented by changing values.
Psychiatry. to cause to lose perception of time, place, or one's personal identity.
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RELATED WORDS
disturb, complicate, discombobulate, befuddle, perturb, clutter, derange, fluster, dumbfound, bewilder, puzzle, muddle, distract, baffle, daze, stupefy, intoxicate, perplex, impair, distort
Nearby words
- disorderly person,
- disorganization,
- disorganize,
- disorganized,
- disorganized schizophrenia,
- disorientate,
- disorientation,
- disoriented,
- disown,
- disparage
Origin of disorient
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for disorient
All this artful excess seems intended to disorient and disinhibit guests descending from the busy theater district above.
Interactive Play ‘Queen of the Night’ Opens at Restored Diamond Horseshoe Club|Brian Spitulnik|December 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
disorient
1650s, from French désorienter "to cause to lose one's bearings," literally "to turn from the east," from dés- (see dis-) + orienter (see orient (v.)). Related: Disoriented; disorienting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper