disillusion

dis·il·lu·sion | \ ˌdis-ə-ˈlü-zhən

Definition of disillusion

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the condition of being disenchanted : the condition of being dissatisfied or defeated in expectation or hope suffered romantic disillusions

disillusion

verb

disillusioned; disillusioning\ ˌdis-ə-ˈlü-zhə-niŋ

Definition of disillusion (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to free from illusion also : to cause to lose naive faith and trust The job disillusioned her about working in retail.

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Examples of disillusion in a Sentence

Verb Working at that store for six months was enough to disillusion me about retail work. we were disillusioned when we saw how the movie star acted in real life

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun And whereas The Sopranos felt singularly American, a classic immigrant story about disillusion and the American dream, Thrones was a model of globalization, a wideband broadcaster of consumerist good cheer. — Adam Wilson, Harper's magazine, "Good Bad Bad Good," 16 Sep. 2019 His own trauma, disillusion, and secrets contribute to some welcome plot tension, which Kait and her primary squadmate Del must contend with. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Gears of War 5 hands-on: A new blockbuster for the game-subscription era," 30 Aug. 2019 Increasingly hobbled by injury (and disillusion) over those five years, Gent was traded after the 1968 season to the Giants, who waived him in the summer of ’69. — The Si Staff, SI.com, "100 Figures Who Shaped the NFL’s First Century," 28 Aug. 2019 Artists here capitalize on the emotional tension between illusion and disillusion, innocence and knowledge. — Cate Mcquaid, BostonGlobe.com, "MFA takes visitors to ‘delectable’ fantasy worlds with two new exhibitions," 8 Aug. 2019 Trump’s disillusion with Fox is unlikely to last, but his growing reliance on, and legitimation of, far-right figures betrays an increasing desperation to find allies in media who will confirm his increasingly deranged worldview. — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, "Trump Assembles His Gang of Social-Media Deplorables," 11 July 2019 Guatemalans voted for a new president Sunday following an electoral process that generated widespread disillusion and distrust, and came as tens of thousands were fleeing poverty and gang violence to seek a new life in the United States. — Fox News, "Guatemalans choose new president as many journey to US for better life," 17 June 2019 Their generation knew too much about disappointment and disillusion. — Lindsey Hilsum, The New York Review of Books, "‘Souvenirs or Landmarks’: The Photographs of Susan Meiselas," 8 June 2019 The Vermont senator argues that the growth the president boasts about still leaves behind rural and Rust Belt voters whose disillusion over job losses and low wages helped power the Republican into the White House three years ago. — Laura Litvan, Fortune, "Bernie Sanders Rips 'Grotesque' Greed and 'Starvation Wages' at Walmart Shareholder Meeting," 5 June 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Waititi’s over-the-top, boy-zealot’s ideal of Hitler is hardly a sympathetic character, and Sam Rockwell’s disgruntled, disillusioned and defeated but nevertheless loyal Capt. — Chuck Yarborough, cleveland, "‘Jojo Rabbit’: Is it a chilling black comedy about yesterday . . . or today?," 28 Oct. 2019 This trade didn’t start with Fitzpatrick growing disillusioned in his role in a brutal Dolphins season for players and being traded six weeks ago for Pittsburgh’s No. — Dave Hyde, sun-sentinel.com, "Hyde: On further review, Dolphins’ trade of Minkah Fitzpatrick to Steelers still makes little sense | Commentary," 27 Oct. 2019 Palestinians are disillusioned by his failure to deliver an independent state, his loss of the Gaza Strip to the rival Hamas movement and general economic malaise. — Washington Post, "Palestinian leader fires advisers, wants bonuses returned," 19 Aug. 2019 Palestinians are disillusioned by his failure to deliver an independent state, his loss of the Gaza Strip to the rival Hamas movement and general economic malaise. — Mohammed Daraghmeh, Fox News, "Palestinian leader fires advisers, wants bonuses returned," 20 Aug. 2019 Roberts said the whole series of events encouraged but also slightly disillusioned him. — Los Angeles Times, "Storm Area 51 creator: ‘I sparked a movement while I was bored at 2 a.m.’," 12 Sep. 2019 Three people who worked with IdealFuture describe being initially fascinated but quickly disillusioned by the project — and losing thousands of dollars in the process. — Adi Robertson, The Verge, "The crowdfunded phone of the future was a multimillion-dollar scam," 13 Aug. 2019 Ordinary Taiwanese were disillusioned with her stewardship of the economy. — The Economist, "Tsai Ing-wen’s prospects for re-election have improved," 25 July 2019 Vaughters finds himself on the outs, disillusioned with Postal’s frat-party culture and looking for a way to stop doping. — Bill Gifford, Outside Online, "Jonathan Vaughters Goes Deep into Cycling’s Dirty Past," 24 July 2019

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

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The first known use of disillusion was in 1591

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More Definitions for disillusion

disillusion

verb

English Language Learners Definition of disillusion

: to cause (someone) to stop believing that something is good, valuable, true, etc.

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

disillusion

verb

dis·il·lu·sion | \ ˌdis-ə-ˈlü-zhən

disillusioned; disillusioning

Kids Definition of disillusion

: to cause to stop having a mistaken belief that something is good, valuable, or true Let me disillusion you about the myth of George Washington's wooden teeth.

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