disorientate
Americanverb (used with object)
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disorientates,
present (3rd person singular)
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disorientated,
past participle, past
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disorientating
present participle
verb
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to cause (someone) to lose his bearings
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to perplex; confuse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disorientatesimple
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disorientatessimple
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have disorientatedperfect
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has disorientatedperfect
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am disorientatingprogressive
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are disorientatingprogressive
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is disorientatingprogressive
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have been disorientatingperfect progressive
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has been disorientatingperfect progressive
Past
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disorientatedsimple
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had disorientatedperfect
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was disorientatingprogressive
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were disorientatingprogressive
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had been disorientatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disorientate
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.
See Examples For:
The actors' use of Classical French and historically faithful declamation could however disorientate some viewers.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
Ukraine has for years deployed a variety of electronic systems that disorientate the navigation systems used by Shaheds to lock onto and fly towards their targets.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
Daniele Clifford, marine conservation officer for The Wildlife Trusts, said the noise from wind farms can disorientate some species.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2021
In “The Thin Place,” Waters exploits design elements to disorientate the audience.
From New York Times ● Jan. 2, 2020
Artists like to disorientate their viewers, to shift the position and scale of otherwise banal subjects so they appear strangely unfamiliar.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 8, 2011
"All you do is you alter the context of them and it completely disorientates you and it's quite disturbing" The film's four wins included best achievement in production and best technical achievement.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2012
It never truly disorientates you, or makes you shiver with fear.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 5, 2012
In recent days, AFP journalists have seen roe deer and fawns looking disorientated in the middle of scorched and barren woodland.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Today many of us are as likely to be disorientated by his fondness for folklore and myth, his assumptions about religion and social order, and his immersion in the conventions of Elizabethan and Jacobean theater.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
"Bright lights and lots of noise can make older patients very disorientated, which can actually turn into delirium. That in turn, slows the process of being able to get home."
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
Asked what happened when Sarm disappeared, David Cattie said Mr Bane believed Sarm perhaps hit her head and fell overboard, or had become disorientated while swimming, lost her way and drowned.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2025
You are meant to feel disorientated and in the grip of mysterious powers.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Kahan's success didn't come overnight – he signed his record deal in 2017 – but it was sudden and disorientating.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
He said it would be "completely disorientating" and someone could stumble and fall with water "continually coming over you".
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Full of cinematic strings and disorientating key changes, it sits alongside No Body, No Crime, Bad Blood and Vigilante S*** in Swift's expanding catalogue of revenge anthems.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
He described it as "terrifying, disorientating and deeply destabilising".
From BBC ● May 9, 2025
Then came Russia's financial meltdown in August 1998, followed by Putin's disorientating ascendance.
From Russian Roulette: Russia's Economy in Putin's Era by Samuel Vaknin
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.
