disorient
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause to lose one's way.
The strange streets disoriented him.
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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.
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Psychiatry. to cause to lose perception of time, place, or one's personal identity.
Etymology
Origin of disorient
1645–55; < French désorienter, equivalent to dés- dis- 1 + orienter to orient
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 woman appears to have tried to lead the disoriented animal away from the shopping street.
From BBC
Beetles and birds filled the air with a disorienting thrum.
From Literature
This device continuously rotates cells to mimic the disorienting effects of zero gravity.
From Science Daily
It was an intense and disorienting time if you were simply a fan of the music; multiply that by approximately a gigaton if you were anywhere adjacent.
From Salon
It’s at once orderly and disorienting, as though following a plan drawn by M.C.
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.
