disorient

[ dis-awr-ee-ent, -ohr- ]
See synonyms for: disorientdisorienteddisorienting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to cause to lose one's way: The strange streets disoriented him.

  2. 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.

  1. Psychiatry. to cause to lose perception of time, place, or one's personal identity.

Origin of disorient

1
1645–55; <French désorienter, equivalent to dés-dis-1 + orienter to orient

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use disorient in a sentence

  • The delusions extend beyond the enigmatic, disorienting desert, with its mirages and its “great expanse of nonmeaning.”

    The 2013 Novel of the Year Is… | Nathaniel Rich | December 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • It was a little disorienting, and it made her feel especially old and saggy sometimes, though he never seemed to notice.

    Makers | Cory Doctorow