to discomfit

Examples

• All

• The unexpected compliment from her boss discomfited her, causing her to blush.

• Several factors have served to discomfit the electorate.

  Academic text (1991)

• Sounds like JREF was deliberately trying to discomfit Amy.

  Blog text (29)

• But she had told no one because she didn't wish to defame or discomfit the man in any way.

  Fiction book (1994)

• Some of the men seemed to go out of their way to devise ribald lyrics to discomfit me.

  Fiction book (1993)

• The sudden question from the audience seemed to discomfit the speaker, leaving him momentarily speechless.

• His harsh criticism was meant to help, but it only served to discomfit the young artist.

Synonyms

U

to upset

vsto discomfit

362 1.0

Make someone feel sad or worried

is more about causing social embarrassment and composure loss, not just unhappiness

D

to disturb

vsto discomfit

153 2.5

Make someone feel deeply worried or upset

is typically milder, focusing on unease and embarrassment rather than deep disturbance

D

to dismay

vsto discomfit

37 4.4

Make someone feel shocked or worried by something unexpected

is milder, causing unease or embarrassment rather than shocked distress

D

to disorient

vsto discomfit

22 5.2

To make a person feel confused about where they are or what to do

is about emotional unease and embarrassment rather than spatial confusion

U

to unnerve

vsto discomfit

20 6.3

To make someone feel nervous and less confident

often causes embarrassment or visible composure loss rather than only reduced confidence

W

to weird out

vsto discomfit

• Informal

12 8.4

Make someone feel strange or uncomfortable

is a neutral, more formal expression for the same unsettled feeling

D

to disconcert

vsto discomfit

7 7.1

To make someone feel uncomfortable or embarrassed

is used more broadly for general unsettlement and loss of self control

U

to unsettle

vsto discomfit

7 4.9

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

is more about personal confusion or embarrassment, not just general insecurity

P

to perturb

vsto discomfit

7 7.0

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

often implies losing composure or embarrassment as results rather than mere anxiety

D

to discombobulate

vsto discomfit

• Informal

6 9.9

To confuse someone so they cannot think clearly

is broader, affecting feelings and composure rather than only thinking clarity

C

to confuse

vsto discomfit

4 2.4

Make someone feel embarrassed or uncomfortable by surprising them

includes losing composure in wider situations, not only from sudden attention

D

to discomfort

vsto discomfit

1 4.3

To make someone feel uneasy or anxious

usually causes visible loss of composure or embarrassment rather than mild unease

D

to discompose

vsto discomfit

1 9.1

To make someone feel nervous

focuses more on causing confusion or embarrassment than only composure loss

D

to disquiet

vsto discomfit

1 7.3

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

adds an aspect of confusion or embarrassment leading to composure loss

C

to consternate

vsto discomfit

• Archaic

1 9.9

To make someone feel sudden shock and worry

is less about sudden shock and more about general embarrassment or unsettlement

U

to unfix

vsto discomfit

9.1

Make someone feel upset and unable to think clearly

is about milder unease or embarrassment rather than deep destabilization

U

to untune

vsto discomfit

• Archaic

8.9

To make someone lose their calm and feel upset

also covers feeling confused or embarrassed, not only instability

C

to chagrin

vsto discomfit

8.0

To make someone feel embarrassed or disappointed

is more general, unsettling people not only after failures or setbacks

D

to disorientate

vsto discomfit

• UK

5.7

To make someone lose their sense of direction or feel confused

focuses on emotional unsettlement, not physical or directional disorientation

Antonyms

C

to comfort

172 1.0

To make someone feel less upset or in pain

R

to reassure

163 3.4

To make someone feel less worried and more confident

How Unsettled

to humiliate

• Offensive

414 6.1

to unsettle

7 4.9

to discomfit

• Formal

1 8.4

to disconcert

7 7.1

to embarrass

642 2.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology