as in to bewilder
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
our grandmother seems a bit discombobulated by all of this birthday fuss
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Recent Examples of discombobulate
Touring completely just discombobulates me.
—
Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2025
Still just 21 years old, Duren is one of the league’s most prolific rebounders and lob finishers, but opposing offenses run constant pick-and-rolls at him, which can discombobulate Detroit’s otherwise staunch defense.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Watching from the perspective of 2025 is a discombobulating experience.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, Thielow’s camera captures her kids in tender moments, clinging to her or sometimes discombobulated by their mother’s absence.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discombobulate
Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2025
Still just 21 years old, Duren is one of the league’s most prolific rebounders and lob finishers, but opposing offenses run constant pick-and-rolls at him, which can discombobulate Detroit’s otherwise staunch defense.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Watching from the perspective of 2025 is a discombobulating experience.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, Thielow’s camera captures her kids in tender moments, clinging to her or sometimes discombobulated by their mother’s absence.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discombobulate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discombobulate
Verb
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But unlike his Sophoclean namesake, Orestes is bewildered by this escalation and refuses.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
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In April, the president was among those bewildered by his fall.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
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Canales-Pelaez said that local departments may be confusing administrative warrants with criminal ones, or overcomplying to avoid backlash from the state Legislature.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Experts on childhood disease were baffled by the change in guidance.—
Arthur Allen,
NPR,
9 Jan. 2026
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Experts on childhood disease were baffled by the change in guidance.—
Arthur Allen,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Gargantuan boulders, twisted spiky trees, and vibrant sunset colors form an arid landscape that has perplexed and inspired creative titans like Jim Morrison and Gram Parsons for years.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
14 Jan. 2026
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The disjunction between the abstract composition and the notion of self-portraiture appeared perplexing in its own right; its inoperability only exacerbated the viewer’s frustration and redoubled the artist’s impish provocation.—
Ara H. Merjian,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But in recent years, Betelgeuse has thrown astronomers a few puzzling curveballs that have required serious detective work to solve.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
20 Jan. 2026
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The comedy video series Murderbot has a robot puzzled by humans taking personal risks out of group loyalty.—
Bill Conerly,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And any Rams fan who was around for that game probably remembers Dieter Brock, and the irony that the quarterback the Rams brought in from the Canadian Football League was befuddled by winds that reached up to 23 mph, to go with 36 degree temperatures and 26-degree wind chill.—
Jim Alexander,
Oc Register,
17 Jan. 2026
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Atlanta then declined to pick up Kinley’s option for 2026, which was a bit befuddling at the time.—
Tyler Estep,
AJC.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Discombobulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discombobulate. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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