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to disconcert

to disconcert

1 7.1
To make someone feel uncomfortable or embarrassed
  • verb
  • /ˌdɪs.kənˈsɜrt/
: desconcertar
  • I could not believe that someone so socially disconcerted would be a real danger.
  • disconcert the reader

Examples

  • The first thing that disconcerted me was the fact that it only had four strings.

    Academic text (2011)
  • His brows rose when he saw Charlotte, but it did not disconcert him.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Never mind, I thought, a bit disconcerted; she is not the important one.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The hours she had spent buying equipment and setting up the drawing table had disconcerted her.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • But Tom was not at all disconcerted by my tears.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • We don't want to disconcert the masses.

  • Teresa tried using biofeedback to speed her adaptation to the dark and found it disconcerting how little training helped.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The exhibitions at Levy's gallery must have been disconcerting experiences for Sheeler.

    Academic text (2004)
  • His hands fell to his sides, and he stood chewing his lip, plainly disconcerted.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • She felt disconcert when her friend suddenly changed the topic during dinner.

Synonyms

to embarrass
vsto disconcert
391 2.1

Make someone feel awkward or ashamed in front of others

focuses more on unease and awkwardness rather than only shame
to upset
vsto disconcert
273 1.0

Make someone feel sad or worried

is more about mild unease or awkwardness than strong emotional disturbance
to put off
vsto disconcert
54 3.7

Make someone not want to do something

primarily creates unease or awkwardness rather than prolonged discouragement
to disturb
vsto disconcert
42 2.5

Make someone feel deeply worried or upset

is generally less intense, causing brief unease or awkwardness instead
to weird out
vsto disconcert
  • Informal
22 8.4

Make someone feel strange or uncomfortable

is more formal and neutral, causing unease without slangy tone
to unsettle
vsto disconcert
20 4.9

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

adds embarrassment rather than only anxiety or insecurity
to unnerve
vsto disconcert
9 6.3

To make someone feel nervous and less confident

creates unease and awkwardness rather than mainly weakening confidence
to dismay
vsto disconcert
4 4.4

Make someone feel shocked or worried by something unexpected

creates milder awkwardness or unease rather than strong shock
to discomfit
vsto disconcert
  • Formal
2 8.4

To make someone feel uncomfortable, confused, or embarrassed

tends to produce milder unease or brief embarrassment without strong confusion
to discomfort
vsto disconcert
1 4.3

To make someone feel uneasy or anxious

is more about embarrassment and loss of composure than general unease
to perturb
vsto disconcert
1 7.0

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

is milder, producing brief embarrassment or unsettled feelings instead
to disquiet
vsto disconcert
1 7.3

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

leans more to awkward embarrassment rather than mainly worry
to confuse
vsto disconcert
1 2.4

Make someone feel embarrassed or uncomfortable by surprising them

is about general unease or awkwardness without requiring surprising attention
to discompose
vsto disconcert
1 9.1

To make someone feel nervous

causes mild unease or embarrassment rather than clear composure loss
to chagrin
vsto disconcert
1 8.0

To make someone feel embarrassed or disappointed

is broader, causing general unease or awkwardness not tied to failure
to untune
vsto disconcert
  • Archaic
8.9

To make someone lose their calm and feel upset

tends to cause milder unease or awkwardness rather than full instability

Antonyms

172 1.0

To make someone feel less upset or in pain

123 3.4

To make someone feel less worried and more confident

How Uneasy

to mortify
2 6.9
to embarrass
391 2.1
to unsettle
20 4.9
to disconcert
1 7.1
to put off
54 3.7
to bother
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

disconcert infinitive
disconcerted past participle
disconcerting present participle
disconcerts third person singular

Morphology

disconcert = concert (semi-transparent) = dis + concert

The prefix 'dis-' negates the sense of agreement/harmony in 'concert', but learners who know 'concert' mainly as a musical event may not directly infer 'make uneasy'.

Etymology

The word disconcert comes from dis- meaning 'not' and concert meaning 'agreement' or 'harmony', the same concert you know as a music event. So to disconcert someone is like breaking a concert's harmony and making them feel uneasy or embarrassed.