disconnect
Americanverb (used with object)
-
disconnects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disconnected,
past participle, past
-
disconnecting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
disconnects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disconnected,
past participle, past
-
disconnecting
present participle
-
to sever or terminate a connection, as of a telephone; hang up.
State your business and disconnect.
-
to withdraw into one's private world.
When social pressures become too great, she simply disconnects.
noun
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disconnects
plural
-
an act or instance of disconnecting, especially the suspension of telephone or cable TV service for nonpayment of service charges.
-
a lack of communication or agreement.
There is a huge disconnect between management and employees.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disconnectsimple
-
disconnectssimple
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have disconnectedperfect
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has disconnectedperfect
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am disconnectingprogressive
-
are disconnectingprogressive
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is disconnectingprogressive
-
have been disconnectingperfect progressive
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has been disconnectingperfect progressive
Past
-
disconnectedsimple
-
had disconnectedperfect
-
was disconnectingprogressive
-
were disconnectingprogressive
-
had been disconnectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disconnect
Explanation
When you disconnect something, you detach or separate it from something else. If you work plowing driveways during the winter, you need to disconnect the plow from your truck in the spring. You can disconnect toy train cars, and you can also disconnect your laptop from its charger. In fact, unplugging electrical appliances is another way to disconnect something. Disconnect also means a lack of understanding or connection. So there might be a disconnect between you and your brother, or between what a politician promises to do and what she actually does. Disconnect combines dis-, "the opposite of" with connect, from the Latin conectere, "join together."
Vocabulary lists containing disconnect
Vocabulary from the Poem “Touchscreen” by Marshall Davis Jones
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Flying Lessons & Other Stories
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Mexican WhiteBoy
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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:
Remember: If you test one of these out then want to deactivate it, don’t just disconnect your mail, calendar and other “connectors.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
For U.S. refiners in particular, there’s also a longstanding disconnect between places where domestic crude supplies are plentiful, and therefore cheaper, and places where demand for fuels is at its highest.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
And that disconnect between players' skillsets and tactics could help explain some dropped points.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
In speaking with her friends, she realized they also felt a disconnect between the lives they envisioned for themselves and their realities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Ambassador Rahel looked down and saw that in her Bata sandals her toes were trying to disconnect themselves.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
“This space is on fire despite stock price disconnects YTD for basically all of AI semis,” Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes wrote on Friday.
From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026
The GDP report itself contains some troubling disconnects: Americans’ disposable personal income remained flat after inflation, despite their robust spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
But “a switch goes off in a narcissist’s brain that disconnects them emotionally from you.”
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2025
“There are so many disconnects and a lack of accountability for really protecting the lives of Indigenous and Black people in this state,” Kebec said.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2024
When I don’t respond, he disconnects after a curt “Try to remember.”
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Over the past few months, the performance of the premier U.S. equity index has grown increasingly disconnected from that of the average U.S.-traded stock.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
While that notion may be true for some, it’s not universal, and Iñárritu’s haughty assumption only reflects how disconnected “Digger” is from the very reality it presumes to understand well enough to satirize.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
Haymon said her experience as a candidate has revealed that many people feel disconnected from the justice system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Yet, for many young Moroccans, politics remains deeply disconnected from reality.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Like most private telephones ours had been disconnected early in the occupation.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The mind learns that disconnecting can allow a person to get space from the sensations, emotions, or experiences that are painful or overwhelming.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
"I was bored sometimes, and that's okay," West recalled one recent evening at a city community garden where detox participants met to share their struggles and joys of disconnecting.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
Some technology companies are fighting a potential solution: disconnecting the data centers from the grid when electricity is in short supply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
"I'm already looking forward just to the break, just to disconnecting, not speaking to anyone," the seven-time champion said, after the worst season of his career.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025
While I’m old enough to know Carl’s disappearance had nothing to do with my mom leaving, there’s no disconnecting the two in my mind.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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.
