disorder

verb

dis·or·der | \ (ˌ)dis-ˈȯr-dər

, (ˌ)diz-\

disordered; disordering; disorders

Definition of disorder

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to disturb the order of

2 : to disturb the regular or normal functions of

disorder

noun

Definition of disorder (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : lack of order clothes in disorder

2 : breach of the peace or public order troubled times marked by social disorders

3 : an abnormal physical or mental condition a liver disorder a personality disorder

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about disorder

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Examples of disorder in a Sentence

Verb

be careful not to disorder the carefully arranged contents of the dresser

Noun

The mayor is concerned that a rally could create public disorder. problems of crime and social disorder Millions of people suffer from some form of personality disorder.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Nadal is drawn to order and ritual, Kyrgios to disorder and the intoxication of improvisation. — Christopher Clarey, New York Times, "Rafael Nadal Doesn’t Fall for Nick Kyrgios’s Bag of Tricks," 4 July 2019 Democracies are also prone to disorder and corruption, but these are ineluctable features of any political system comprised of selfish and flawed human beings. — Sean Illing, Vox, "Intellectuals have said democracy is failing for a century. They were wrong.," 20 Dec. 2018 He was arrested on charges of possessing intoxicants for unlawful purposes, possession of unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities, evading arrest and disordering conduct. — Travis Fedschun, Fox News, "Man nicknamed 'Captain Jack Sparrow' huffed glue, kicked Tennessee cops, police say," 7 May 2018 The new guidance comes a day after President Donald Trump declared opioid use disorders a public health emergency and promised to accelerate the federal government’s response to the crisis. — Michelle Hackman, WSJ, "Trump Administration Relaxes Medical Privacy Rule for Overdoses," 27 Oct. 2017 Her personality disorder has the power to disorder other people’s personalities. — Wesley Morris, New York Times, "Sign Up for the Watching Newsletter," 18 Apr. 2016

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

There are hints that imbalances in the gut bacterial population are involved in such disorders. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Benign gut virus may be older than humanity, might be useful as therapy," 8 July 2019 The goal is to bring Connecticut into compliance with the federal Mental Health Parity Act of 2008, which requires health insurers to treat mental health conditions and substance abuse disorders the same as physical ailments. — Tess Vrbin, courant.com, "Gov. Lamont signs bill requiring insurers to provide equal coverage for mental health and substance abuse," 8 July 2019 And anything that increases the conversation around addiction and alcohol use disorders is positive. — Cory Stieg, refinery29.com, "The Problem With Calling Sobriety A "Wellness Trend"," 5 July 2019 Historically, schizophrenia and other thought disorders have the potential really just to ravage someone’s life. — Jocelyn Wiener, SFChronicle.com, "Calif. counties inconsistent in offering critical treatment for early psychosis," 5 July 2019 Conservatives tend to nostalgia and dread disorder. — The Economist, "Conservatism is fighting for its life against reactionary nationalism," 4 July 2019 For starters, while many diseases and disorders of the brain have obvious physical manifestations that can be detected with an X-ray or an MRI, some do not. — Ryan Dalton, Scientific American, "Decoding the Language of Neurons," 2 July 2019 EEGs are often used to diagnose epilepsy, assess brain activity after a stroke, or during sleep disorders. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Who will wake up from a coma? Electrical jolts in the brain offer hints," 30 June 2019 Rodriguez also spoke about her battle with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland and often includes depression as a symptom. — Christina Oehler, Health.com, "‘Jane the Virgin’ Star Gina Rodriguez’s Opens Up About Her Mental Health and Battling Depression," 18 June 2019

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