disarm

dis·arm | \ dis-ˈärm

How to pronounce disarm (audio)

, diz-, ˈdis-ˌärm \

disarmed; disarming; disarms

Definition of disarm

transitive verb

1a : to deprive of means, reason, or disposition to be hostile disarmed criticism by admitting her errors

b : to win over

2a : to divest of arms disarm captured troops

b : to deprive of a means of attack or defense disarm a ship

c : to make harmless disarm a bomb

intransitive verb

1 : to lay aside arms

2 : to give up or reduce armed forces

Other Words from disarm Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about disarm

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of disarm in a Sentence

The government has been unsuccessful at disarming the rebels. The terrorists have refused to disarm. It took more than an hour to disarm the bomb.

Recent Examples on the Web After repeated verbal commands and the use of standard methods to disarm the inmate, Davis refused to comply. — William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, "How many inmates died in Alabama’s prisons in 2019?," 28 Dec. 2019 One of the suspects raised a handgun prompting the man to attempt to disarm the suspect. — Lillian Reed, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore police: Man held at gunpoint outside of his home, shot in struggle with two suspects," 12 Dec. 2019 The radiant green bursts aren’t just radiant green bursts but in fact demonstrators using laser pointers to disarm police drones. — Wired, "Depth of Field: The Searing Colors of Santiago's Revolution," 14 Nov. 2019 The all-purpose reply is designed to disarm oldish people who dispense condescension dressed up as wisdom. — Molly Roberts, The Denver Post, "Molly Roberts: OK, boomer. The kids are fighting back.," 7 Nov. 2019 Use your charm to disarm someone's anger and your ideals to forge a path through a complicated problem. — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive, "Horoscope for Oct. 24, 2019: Aquarius, read poetry; Cancer, to everything there is a season," 24 Oct. 2019 Its lobbyists will try to disarm radical proposals. — The Economist, "Silicon Valley and the state gird for war," 3 Oct. 2019 Tesla hoped, through his dramatic demonstration, to disarm the negative publicity. — National Geographic, "Edison and Tesla's cutthroat 'Current War' ushered in the electric age," 27 Sep. 2019 One of the proposals being offered by Texas House Democrats is a red flag law, which allows police or family members to petition a court to temporarily disarm someone considered a danger to themselves or someone else. — Gilbert Garcia, ExpressNews.com, "Why Texas needs a special session on guns," 6 Sep. 2019

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about disarm

Dictionary Entries near disarm

Statistics for disarm

Last Updated

6 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Disarm.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disarm. Accessed 17 January 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for disarm

disarm

verb

English Language Learners Definition of disarm

: to take weapons from (someone or something)

: to give up weapons

: to make (a bomb, mine, etc.) harmless

See the full definition for disarm in the English Language Learners Dictionary

disarm

dis·arm | \ dis-ˈärm

\

disarmed; disarming

Kids Definition of disarm

1 : to take weapons from Disarm the prisoner.

2 : to reduce the size and strength of the armed forces of a country

3 : to make harmless He disarmed the bomb.

4 : to end dislike or mistrust : win over a disarming smile

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

tontine

a plan in which a last survivor takes all

Test Your Vocabulary

The Eponym Quiz

Which is the best synonym of bowdlerize?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.