disorient
verb
dis·ori·ent
(ˌ)dis-ˈȯr-ē-ˌent 
disoriented; disorienting; disorients
1
a
: to cause to lose bearings : displace from normal position or relationship
b
: to cause to lose the sense of time, place, or identity
2
: confuse
Examples of disorient in a Sentence
Thick fog can disorient even an experienced hiker.
troops disoriented by the sudden change in battle plans
Recent Examples on the Web
The driver appeared to be disoriented but conscious at the scene, according to the video posted online by the Pickett family.
—
Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2025
Cinematographer James Friend creates a purgatorial realm of disorienting angles and neon lights too sickly to be beautiful, the nightmarishness further underlined by Volker Bertelman’s thundering score.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 30 Aug. 2025
This was not a hoax, exactly; Baron makes a convincing case that Lowell believed passionately in his grandiose claims, and that many members of the public wanted to believe in them, at a time of disorienting change.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
Ultimately, this film’s absurd existentialist deadpan aligns Lanthimos’ work here closer to Ruben Östlund than ever — himself a filmmaker likely drawing from Lanthimos these days — to mine the comedy of repetitious futility to disorienting effect.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for disorient
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Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2025
Cinematographer James Friend creates a purgatorial realm of disorienting angles and neon lights too sickly to be beautiful, the nightmarishness further underlined by Volker Bertelman’s thundering score.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 30 Aug. 2025
This was not a hoax, exactly; Baron makes a convincing case that Lowell believed passionately in his grandiose claims, and that many members of the public wanted to believe in them, at a time of disorienting change.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
Ultimately, this film’s absurd existentialist deadpan aligns Lanthimos’ work here closer to Ruben Östlund than ever — himself a filmmaker likely drawing from Lanthimos these days — to mine the comedy of repetitious futility to disorienting effect.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for disorient
Cite this Entry
“Disorient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disorient. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
disorient
verb
dis·ori·ent
(ˈ)dis-ˈōr-ē-ˌent
-ˈȯr-
: to cause to be confused or lost
Medical Definition
disorient
transitive verb
dis·ori·ent
(ˈ)dis-ˈōr-ē-ˌent, -ˈȯr-
: to produce a state of disorientation in : disorientate
the next day the patient was disoriented but not comatose—The Journal of the American Medical Association
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