disaffected

American  

[dis-uh-fek-tid] / ˌdɪs əˈfɛk tɪd /

adjective

1. discontented and disloyal, as toward the government or toward authority.

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Other Word Forms

• disaffectedness
  noun
• disaffectedly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of disaffected

First recorded in 1625–35; disaffect + -ed ²

Explanation

The adjective disaffected describes someone who is dissatisfied or rebellious. Usually if you're disaffected, you're upset with people in authority. You and your fellow disaffected workers might become so upset about the lack of raises that you decided to boycott work. You might have heard the term "disaffected youth," which refers to young people rebelling against some aspect of society. For example, disaffected youth might fight against their lack of political freedom. Disaffected can also be used to describe things rather than people, like the disaffected lyrics in a song or the disaffected mood of a poem describing an unhappy or bitter state of mind. The word disaffected comes from disaffect, meaning "estranged, hostile."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

disaffected

The prototypical Gen Xer is resilient and cynical, a “latchkey kid” turned disaffected slacker, raised on MTV and limited parental supervision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Despite its humorous origins, the CJP group quickly became a lightning rod for India's disaffected young people.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

The enduring intraparty conflict signals an opening for Talarico, who has made appealing to Cornyn supporters and disaffected voters across the political spectrum central to his general election strategy.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026

But he’s also going after the hardest voters to get to turn out: disaffected voters who are upset at the system.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

She sounded disaffected, cool, all blues and violets, the opposite of the hot ember glow that burned inside Maya.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

Related Words

• rebellious