disconcert

[ dis-kuhn-surt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to disturb the self-possession of; perturb; ruffle:

   Her angry reply disconcerted me completely.

   Synonyms: discomfit, abash, bewilder, perplex, discompose

   Antonyms: calm

2. to throw into disorder or confusion; disarrange:

   He changed his mind and disconcerted everybody's plans.

   Antonyms: arrange

disconcert

/ ˌdɪskənˈsɜːt /

verb

1. to disturb the composure of
2. to frustrate or upset

Derived Forms

• ˌdisconˈcertion, noun

Other Words From

• discon·certed adjective
• discon·certion discon·certment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of disconcert¹

From the obsolete French word disconcerter, dating back to 1680–90. See dis- ¹, concert

Synonym Study

See confuse.

Example Sentences

Jean-Paul Sartre famously wrote in 1945 about how fascists would bait decent people into faux-debates with similar tactics, noting that they "know that their remarks are frivolous" so they "seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert."

From Salon

I put my question quickly and somewhat sternly, on purpose to disconcert him.

From Literature

He is training an audience in the bad faith that Sartre so eloquently described when he wrote that fascists "delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert."

From Salon

“E-bikes accelerate faster” than standard bikes, Mr. Kenny points out, and that sudden momentum can disconcert and bobble unprepared riders.

From New York Times

In Twin Peaks “they tend to disconcert us because there is something ‘off’ about them.”

From The Guardian

Related Words

• agitate
• baffle
• bewilder
• confound
• demoralize
• discombobulate
• discomfit
• disturb
• embarrass
• frustrate
• perplex
• perturb
• puzzle
• unsettle