as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
our grandmother seems a bit discombobulated by all of this birthday fuss
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discombobulating
Thanks to their annual visits to Levi’s Stadium, the Seahawks are vastly better equipped to deal with both the electromagnetic field produced by the nearby substation and the lingering, discombobulating audio waves from the Flight Deck ride at Great America.
—
Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2026
Seeing Sparkle cry about Landfair’s experience — something that Landfair hadn’t fully come to terms with — was discombobulating and infuriating.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2026
And then there’s the cuteness of its progression indicator—verbs like crunching, moseying, perusing, reticulating, discombobulating and zesting.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 31 Jan. 2026
Watching from the perspective of 2025 is a discombobulating experience.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2025
Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2026
Seeing Sparkle cry about Landfair’s experience — something that Landfair hadn’t fully come to terms with — was discombobulating and infuriating.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2026
And then there’s the cuteness of its progression indicator—verbs like crunching, moseying, perusing, reticulating, discombobulating and zesting.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 31 Jan. 2026
Watching from the perspective of 2025 is a discombobulating experience.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discombobulating
Verb
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The steel pipe's unexpected growth spurt was reported to police early Wednesday by a pedestrian who saw broken pieces of asphalt falling from the cylinder, baffling people passing by and causing traffic congestion.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
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Though still fuming from his team’s baffling loss to the Bulls – the Warriors squandered an eight-point lead with 91 seconds remaining – Kerr found his composure long enough to crack a joke.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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There aren’t many ways to earn a club’s first win better than bewildering the league’s defending champions at their place.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
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McNutt housed some 700 kids — about one-third of the population of French Lick — and Bird found the campus outside the dormitory walls bewildering.—
Keith O'Brien,
Rolling Stone,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This device is a high-tech centrifuge that simulates microgravity by spinning vials with samples around two axes, effectively confusing the cells inside as to their position in space.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
27 Mar. 2026
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During the Second World War, the Allies put a special effort into confusing the Axis powers.—
David Szondy
March 25,
New Atlas,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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What makes this letter particularly puzzling is the open court case that accuses the NFL of racial discrimination.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
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So the absence of any real investment in the interior offensive line this offseason is puzzling.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That none of this has ever been clear to Gisèle is perplexing even to her.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
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While initially perplexing to the Messers and other anglers, some now believe this was part of Phillips’ long con.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Then conditions suddenly turn whiteout, disorienting at best and fatal at worst.—
Laura Dannen Redman,
Robb Report,
29 Mar. 2026
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This device simulates zero-G by flipping and disorienting the cells placed within it.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Discombobulating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discombobulating. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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