as in to confuse
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
troops disoriented by the sudden change in battle plans
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Recent Examples of disorient
Immediately disoriented, confused and dizzy.
—
Scott Pelley, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
Officers then began taking apart the tank, which was not factory standard, and discovered the woman lying in a puddle of gasoline, appearing disoriented and suffering from apparent chemical burns to her legs and feet; she was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation, treated and quickly released.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Amid the normal disorienting din was a message with a link to an Instagram post.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
The result is a generation of people who appear accomplished on the outside and quietly disoriented within.
—Kaitlyn Gomez, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disorient
Scott Pelley, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
Officers then began taking apart the tank, which was not factory standard, and discovered the woman lying in a puddle of gasoline, appearing disoriented and suffering from apparent chemical burns to her legs and feet; she was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation, treated and quickly released.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Amid the normal disorienting din was a message with a link to an Instagram post.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
The result is a generation of people who appear accomplished on the outside and quietly disoriented within.
—Kaitlyn Gomez, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for disorient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disorient
Verb
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In the fall of 2023, Yanxiao joined Tsinghua University, where his research confused professors who were accustomed to more conventional disciplinary lines.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
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But the notice sent last spring was so vague and confusing that few people used it to object.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Now, many millions of Americans are bewildered by events.—
David French,
Mercury News,
3 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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These are the brutally real snapshots of a man well acquainted with—but still perplexed by—the powerful and destructive forces that lord over our lives.—
Dash Lewis,
Pitchfork,
4 Mar. 2026
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Hour said he was perplexed by his liberal friends expressing their condolences.—
Julian Roberts-Grmela,
New York Daily News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One administrator told me that he was baffled, but that the embassy staff seemed confident that something would come of it.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
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Books like this can frustrate and baffle.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The instinct to head back to a war zone may seem puzzling, but the reality on the ground generally isn’t as dire as the headlines suggest.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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This puzzling behavior has long raised questions about how materials without a regular molecular structure can still remain mechanically stable.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disorient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disorient. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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