as in baffling
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 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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Georgia basketball’s matchup with Tennessee ended in baffling fashion Wednesday night.—
Olivia Sayer,
AJC.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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The pilot of a private jet reportedly made an eerie discovery while flying thousands of feet over Rhode Island, marking the latest in unexplained encounters baffling both experts and civilians alike.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Even a principled, well-meaning actor like Claude could face bewildering ethical conflicts.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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And aren’t our real-life romantic complications bewildering enough?—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The citizens of Texas are confusing hospitality for complacency.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
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Registration deadlines, confusing rules and inconsistent access make participation harder at the very moment young people become eligible to vote.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Yes, Tuesday night’s concert was also occasionally puzzling in its choices.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Feb. 2026
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Just add it to the list of examples of puzzling goalie interference calls.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That’s perplexing to Alvarez and Oakley, given that Cal State tuition is still relatively low, despite recent annual tuition hikes.—
Cal Matters,
Mercury News,
28 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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Two therapists work in sync to create a continuous, enveloping rhythm that’s disorienting in the best way.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026
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There is something disorienting about treading water as your date catalogues their personal disappointments, each one hitting like a splash from the diving board.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Discombobulating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discombobulating. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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