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
Emma Alpern, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026
By the movie’s end, the charming love story has devolved into a disorienting series of mind games.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026
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
Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026
The world economy is experiencing a disorienting flashback to the 1970s.
—ABC News, 11 Apr. 2026
Parsing the publications side by side can be disorienting.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 6 Apr. 2026
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
When recovery begins, consciousness tends to return in stages, and the experience can be confusing and disorienting for the person waking up.
—Kara Rogers , Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 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
Adjective
Levy’s novel is comic but suffused with dread, replicating the internet era’s many disorienting bids for our attention.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026
By the movie’s end, the charming love story has devolved into a disorienting series of mind games.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026
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
Verb
The world economy is experiencing a disorienting flashback to the 1970s.
—Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026
The world economy is experiencing a disorienting flashback to the 1970s.
—ABC News, 11 Apr. 2026
Parsing the publications side by side can be disorienting.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 6 Apr. 2026
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
When recovery begins, consciousness tends to return in stages, and the experience can be confusing and disorienting for the person waking up.
—Kara Rogers , Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disorienting
Adjective
-
The digital menu is divided into a handful of confusing categories that force you to rely on your previous memory of what’s on offer, not only because finding new options is so difficult, but also because even looking for them is inordinately time-consuming.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Set in New Jersey, the story follows an ethnically and religiously confusing family fronted by hardware store owner Linda (Laurie Metcalf), who decides after the death of her mother to run for mayor of their midsized town.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This inversion explains a host of baffling political and cultural phenomena of late.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
But as the adorable pair get acclimated to life in the nest, they've been observed doing some perplexing – perhaps even seemingly concerning – behavior.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Of those lowlights, Chapman’s failed attempt to steal second base was especially perplexing given his reputation as an excellent baserunner.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But even more than engaging the big ideas that Emma’s revelation triggers — pun somewhat intended — Lee and Borli wanted to craft an experience that would mimic its main characters’ bewildering interiority.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
6 Apr. 2026
-
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
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
-
But if not selling high on Herro was a mistake, the curious commitment to Andrew Wiggins stands just as puzzling.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Why a complete and puzzling change in my lifelong habits?—
Dr. C. E. Kuschel,
Outdoor Life,
9 Apr. 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
-
Obliterated it, which is not an ambiguous term.—
Brian Dakss,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Samuel Dic Sum Lai, a PhD candidate at the University of London, has dedicated his studies to chronicling the ambiguous history and culture of these restaurants.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disorienting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disorienting. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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