1 discombobulate | Definition of discombobulate

discombobulate

verb
dis·​com·​bob·​u·​late | \ ˌdis-kəm-ˈbĂ€-b(y)ə-ˌlāt How to pronounce discombobulate (audio) \
discombobulated; discombobulating

Definition of discombobulate

transitive verb

: upset, confuse was discombobulated by her revelation inventing cool new ways to discombobulate the old order— Kurt Andersen

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Other Words from discombobulate

discombobulation \ ˌdis-​kəm-​ˌbĂ€-​b(y)ə-​ˈlā-​shən How to pronounce discombobulation (audio) \ noun

Examples of discombobulate in a Sentence

our grandmother seems a bit discombobulated by all of this birthday fuss

Recent Examples on the Web

Actually, scratch that too: everything since November 2016 has been discombobulating. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, "The world wonders what's happened to America," 10 Aug. 2019 The Bears offense was discombobulated at best for much of the first half. Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, "Rookie running back David Montgomery gives the Bears — and their fans — a taste of the future in his preseason debut," 8 Aug. 2019 The overall experience is hypnotic, discombobulating, and undeniably fun. Benjamin Kemper, CondĂ© Nast Traveler, "A Guide to Spanish Wine Country," 7 Mar. 2018 James and the Cleveland Cavaliers looked discombobulated going up against the younger, more spry Boston Celtics in Game 5. Michael Singer, USA TODAY, "LeBron James shows off uncanny memory with precise recall of all six Game 5 turnovers," 24 May 2018 The lone note of comic relief in Westworld continues to be Lee Sizemore, totally out of his depth and discombobulated when the arrows start flying. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Westworld: A Cut Above," 20 May 2018 The effect is at first exhilarating, then discombobulating, then exhausting. Elisabeth Egan, New York Times, "Love Warrior," 1 June 2018 As a huge fan of VanderMeer’s book (and its subsequent volumes), I was initially discombobulated by Garland’s approach and just how radically different his take on Annihilation was. David Sims, The Atlantic, "Deconstructing Annihilation's Ending," 26 Feb. 2018 The menu feels discombobulated without the distinct personality that distinguishes a four-star restaurant. Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle, "Why the restaurant Coi won’t be on this year’s Top 100 Restaurants list," 17 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discombobulate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of discombobulate

circa 1916, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for discombobulate

probably alteration of discompose

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More from Merriam-Webster on discombobulate

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with discombobulate

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for discombobulate