disconcert

verb dis·con·cert \ ˌdis-kən-ˈsərt \

|Updated on: 16 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: disconcert in a Sentence

Definition of disconcert

transitive verb

1 : to throw into confusion

disconcerting their plans

2 : to disturb the composure of

were disconcerted by his tone of voice

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disconcerting

adjective

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disconcertingly

play \-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

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disconcertment

play \-mənt\ noun

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Examples of disconcert in a Sentence

News of his criminal past has disconcerted even his admirers.
we were disconcerted by the unexpected changes to the program

Recent Examples of disconcert from the Web

At first surprised and then disconcerted by Teddy’s behavior, Dolores seems ill-prepared for the results of her personality change experiment.

— sandra upson, WIRED, "Westworld Recap, Season 2 Episode 9: The Many Lives of the Man in Black," 18 June 2018
Listeners may walk away feeling more disconcerted than before — and that just might be the point.

— aidin vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, "Nedelle Torrisi explores love from all sides with ‘Only For You’," 30 May 2018
That reaction was fine by him: Riley ends the film on a note of volatility, introducing disconcerting new information in the closing seconds and then leaving this, and one of the film’s major antagonisms, unresolved.

— jonah weiner, New York Times, "How Boots Riley Infiltrated Hollywood," 22 May 2018
The results must have been disconcerting for some of them.

— gretchen reynolds, New York Times, "Exercise May Aid in Weight Loss. Provided You Do Enough.," 4 July 2018
At first surprised and then disconcerted by Teddy’s behavior, Dolores seems ill-prepared for the results of her personality change experiment.

— sandra upson, WIRED, "Westworld Recap, Season 2 Episode 9: The Many Lives of the Man in Black," 18 June 2018
At first surprised and then disconcerted by Teddy’s behavior, Dolores seems ill-prepared for the results of her personality change experiment.

— sandra upson, WIRED, "Westworld Recap, Season 2 Episode 7: Decoding Da Vinci," 4 June 2018
The sight of Kershaw serving up eight home runs during last year’s postseason – including four in one game to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Division Series – had to be disconcerting for anyone wearing Dodger blue.

— jorge l. ortiz, USA TODAY, "Clayton Kershaw's arm injury, trip to DL latest sign of mortality for Dodgers great," 6 May 2018
But such a large pivot, says Mark Mahaney of RBC Capital Markets, an investment bank, is disconcerting.

— The Economist, "Upstart meal-kit companies may need a new recipe for growth," 12 Apr. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of disconcert

obsolete French disconcerter, alteration of Middle French desconcerter, from des- dis- + concerter to concert

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1687

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

disconcert Synonyms

Synonyms

abash, confound, confuse, discomfit, discountenance, embarrass, faze, fluster, mortify, nonplus, rattle;

Near Antonyms

calm, comfort, console, relieve, soothe;

buoy, cheer, embolden, encourage, hearten;

assure, reassure;

debase, degrade, demean, humble, humiliate, shame;

Synonym Discussion of disconcert

embarrass, discomfit, abash, disconcert, rattle mean to distress by confusing or confounding. embarrass implies some influence that impedes thought, speech, or action.