as in confusing
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as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
troops disoriented by the sudden change in battle plans
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disorienting
Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 25 Mar. 2026
Inside the cabin, the smoke and toxic fumes from burning plastic were disorienting.
—Jeff Suess, Cincinnati Enquirer, 22 Mar. 2026
Ari Baylor, a 42-year-old from Rockville, Maryland, said his political shift has been gradual, but no less disorienting.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 22 Mar. 2026
Compounding that volume, legal workers say, is a disorienting veneer of legibility that AI can bring to flawed or baseless arguments.
—Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 18 Mar. 2026
Told initially from his child-like perspective, the narrator reflects on a disorienting, puzzling day when his father picked him up late from school.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Mar. 2026
Another disorienting element in Netflix world is the company’s approach to paying actors, writers, and others.
—Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
If this spreads, fans will likely test different decades and genres to find what creates the most disorienting effect at the free-throw line.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
Just a person singing pop songs really, really loudly — and somehow that’s more disorienting than anything else a crowd could throw at a free throw shooter.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2026
Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 29 Mar. 2026
This device simulates zero-G by flipping and disorienting the cells placed within it.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 26 Mar. 2026
Why does this disorienting illusion work?
—Nora Bradford, Scientific American, 23 Mar. 2026
Your everyday reality is disorienting change—but not the kind that freed Lippmann and his generation to shape their era.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Your everyday reality is disorienting change—but not the kind that freed Lippmann and his generation to shape their era.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2026
Amid the normal disorienting din was a message with a link to an Instagram post.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
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
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
Adjective
That has been the most disorienting and frightening aspect of all of this.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 25 Mar. 2026
Inside the cabin, the smoke and toxic fumes from burning plastic were disorienting.
—Jeff Suess, Cincinnati Enquirer, 22 Mar. 2026
Ari Baylor, a 42-year-old from Rockville, Maryland, said his political shift has been gradual, but no less disorienting.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 22 Mar. 2026
Compounding that volume, legal workers say, is a disorienting veneer of legibility that AI can bring to flawed or baseless arguments.
—Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 18 Mar. 2026
Told initially from his child-like perspective, the narrator reflects on a disorienting, puzzling day when his father picked him up late from school.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 Mar. 2026
Another disorienting element in Netflix world is the company’s approach to paying actors, writers, and others.
—Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
If this spreads, fans will likely test different decades and genres to find what creates the most disorienting effect at the free-throw line.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
Just a person singing pop songs really, really loudly — and somehow that’s more disorienting than anything else a crowd could throw at a free throw shooter.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 11 Mar. 2026
Verb
Then conditions suddenly turn whiteout, disorienting at best and fatal at worst.
—Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 29 Mar. 2026
This device simulates zero-G by flipping and disorienting the cells placed within it.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 26 Mar. 2026
Why does this disorienting illusion work?
—Nora Bradford, Scientific American, 23 Mar. 2026
Your everyday reality is disorienting change—but not the kind that freed Lippmann and his generation to shape their era.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Your everyday reality is disorienting change—but not the kind that freed Lippmann and his generation to shape their era.
—George Packer, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2026
Amid the normal disorienting din was a message with a link to an Instagram post.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disorienting
Adjective
-
This lack of strategic continuity is confusing, even for the players.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The next few seconds were chaotic and confusing.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
Adjective
-
The judging is vexing and perplexing.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Radziwill’s absence has been somewhat perplexing.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
Adjective
-
In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The Eagles were a confounding defending champion throughout the regular season.—
Jeff Howe,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
Adjective
-
The Mets’ continual snub of Hall of Famer Carter, a pivotal player in the team’s history as the first building block of the 1986 championship club, is both mystifying and downright embarrassing.—
Bill Madden,
New York Daily News,
14 Mar. 2026
-
The outlandish and mystifying story received nearly wall-to-wall coverage, but the plane was never found.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Language that humans easily understand can be too ambiguous for machines, especially when multiple objects look similar.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Was there any thought of ending there and leaving what happens next ambiguous?—
Mike Ryan,
IndieWire,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disorienting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disorienting. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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