disarm

verb

dis·arm | \dis-ˈärm,

diz-, ˈdis-ˌärm\

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

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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

Even at this early stage, the chatbot’s smiles, frowns and slow eye-blinks clearly engaged and disarmed spectators—and that could be a path to better tech-support calls. — Melissa Riofrio, PCWorld, "What this puppy chatbot says about the friendly future of fintech for consumers," 14 June 2018 Travis Reinking has been charged with four counts of murder in the April 22 mass shooting in which an unarmed black man, James Shaw Jr., is being called a hero for disarming the gunman. — Angela Helm, The Root, "Mother of Young Woman Killed at Tennessee Waffle House Accepts Her College Diploma," 7 May 2018 Trump suggested Friday that getting North Korea to disarm will take longer than anyone would like. — Washington Post, "Moon presses Trump, Kim for breakthrough in nuclear talks," 13 July 2018 Now Housewright faces several charges, including resisting arrest and attempting to disarm a police officer, authorities said. — Jared Gilmour, miamiherald, "Man caught breaking into cars went for cop’s gun — and it didn’t end well, Mich. police say," 28 June 2018 Frank Rose, a former senior arms control official at the State Department during the Obama administration, said Mattis appears to be taking a prudent approach by testing North Korea's intentions to disarm before changing course. — Robert Burns, Anchorage Daily News, "If North Korea disarms, will U.S. missile defense lose favor?," 26 June 2018 The Kim ruling family has fooled three previous American presidents with promises to disarm. — NBC News, "Why North Korea's 'special delivery' letter was so warmly received in the Oval Office," 1 June 2018 The statements by John Bolton, the national-security adviser and historically a deep skeptic that North Korea will ever fully disarm, came as Pompeo prepares to make his third trip to North Korea late this week. — William J. Broad, The Seattle Times, "Bolton says North Korea could disarm in a year," 2 July 2018 Another actress might have settled there, staking out a comfortable living filling in one shade of disarming ingénue or another. — New York Times, "The Amy Adams Method," 29 June 2018

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.