as in confused
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
troops disoriented by the sudden change in battle plans
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Recent Examples of disoriented
Feeling overwhelmed and disoriented, Doug fled his home during the night and entered a neighbor’s residence two doors down, where he was taken into custody by police.
—
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
This is the conclusion of a study led by researchers from Florida's Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, who suspect that—just like some adult humans with dementia are occasionally found wandering far from their homes—dolphins may become similarly disoriented when suffering from Alzheimer's.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
This is the American West actualized and disoriented, where humans are an afterthought.
—Anne Reeve, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
Bertis Sutton, Ruth’s son, told Global News in June that his mother has early stage Alzheimer’s but had not shown signs of being disoriented or wandering away.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
The puppy was disoriented and had had a seizure which prompted the visit to the emergency center.
—Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
He was disoriented and borderline incoherent.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 25 Sep. 2025
Pink Light centers on Scott, a trans man and an ex-pro hockey player who is left disoriented after being hit while playing in a beer league hockey game.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
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
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
This is the conclusion of a study led by researchers from Florida's Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, who suspect that—just like some adult humans with dementia are occasionally found wandering far from their homes—dolphins may become similarly disoriented when suffering from Alzheimer's.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
This is the American West actualized and disoriented, where humans are an afterthought.
—Anne Reeve, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
Bertis Sutton, Ruth’s son, told Global News in June that his mother has early stage Alzheimer’s but had not shown signs of being disoriented or wandering away.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
The puppy was disoriented and had had a seizure which prompted the visit to the emergency center.
—Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
He was disoriented and borderline incoherent.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 25 Sep. 2025
Pink Light centers on Scott, a trans man and an ex-pro hockey player who is left disoriented after being hit while playing in a beer league hockey game.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disoriented
Verb
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The lot of us, dressed in our finery, descend upon the event, bidding a quick hello to Ronson and earning some stares from the upstate locals, confused by our presence—and matching outfits.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
30 Oct. 2025
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Her daughter was confused, and eventually asked Nasser for an explanation as to what had been said.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Gelles avoids lionizing Patagonia’s leader, describing Chouinard’s mercurial leadership style that often bewildered his staff at Patagonia.—
Maya Silver,
Outside,
20 Oct. 2025
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The sense of arbitrariness that had previously bewildered and frustrated me was drowned out by excitement and sheer aesthetic pleasure.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The conservative backlash isn’t surprising, but we were still left genuinely puzzled by the unshakable belief that a lesbian nun is as far-fetched a notion as a flying elephant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The whole situation puzzled me-the atmosphere even seemed charged with eerie energy.—
Joel M. Vance,
Outdoor Life,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Played for comic relief, he is baffled by this son of his who attends college and, more perplexing yet, is suddenly obsessed with Italy and cycling.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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Physicists were baffled as to why this material would suddenly stop conducting current once the tellurium content reached approximately 30 percent—a change that its basic chemical composition could not explain.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Country fans were perplexed as to why Johnson, revered for his commitment to traditional country, had gone mostly dark in the studio during that time.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
29 Oct. 2025
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Lauren Freeman, his cousin, told Fox News Digital earlier this month that a reference to orthopedic hardware in his neck had perplexed the family.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Disoriented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disoriented. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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