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to discompose

to discompose

1 9.1
To make someone feel nervous
  • verb
  • /ˌdɪs.kəmˈpoʊz/
translation icon : desconcertar
  • It's boring, filthy work." Roger looked at Brianna dubiously, but she nodded, not at all discomposed at the prospect.

Examples

  • Nothing that need discompose us was the sense I was tryin' to convey.

  • Lisa, slightly discomposed, looks back at Wills and Charlotte.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • You have an extraordinary ability to discompose my friend, sir.

  • If anyone with sense wanted to discompose the royal family, they'd put the spell on them, not on their griffin.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • "You will repay me entirely if you do not discompose yourself, but get well as fast as you can; and since you appear in such good spirits, I may speak to you on one subject, may I not?

    Fiction book (2002)
  • I had never seen the "Inimitable" so discomposed.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The egalitarian quality of modern society caught him off guard, as discomposing as kicking a huge weight that suddenly was no longer there.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • It will discompose him.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • "I don't think I've ever seen him discomposed.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The sudden loud noise discomposed her during the important presentation.

Synonyms

to upset
vsto discompose
362 1.0

Make someone feel sad or worried

aims at breaking composure rather than expressing general unhappiness
to disturb
vsto discompose
153 2.5

Make someone feel deeply worried or upset

focuses on upsetting composure rather than causing wide emotional harm
to appall
vsto discompose
64 5.5

To make someone feel shocked and very upset by something cruel or wrong

affects composure more mildly than intense horror or deep shock
to dismay
vsto discompose
37 4.4

Make someone feel shocked or worried by something unexpected

upsets composure by making someone uneasy rather than only shocking them
to unnerve
vsto discompose
20 6.3

To make someone feel nervous and less confident

targets a loss of calm rather than directly attacking self confidence
to disconcert
vsto discompose
7 7.1

To make someone feel uncomfortable or embarrassed

affects composure without the frequent embarrassment element
to unsettle
vsto discompose
7 4.9

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

creates unease while the main focus is the loss of composure
to perturb
vsto discompose
7 7.0

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

upsets composure specifically rather than only producing general worry
to discomfort
vsto discompose
1 4.3

To make someone feel uneasy or anxious

disturbs composure more strongly than creating only mild unease
to disquiet
vsto discompose
1 7.3

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

disturbs composure more than simply producing worry
to discomfit
vsto discompose
  • Formal
1 8.4

To make someone feel uncomfortable, confused, or embarrassed

causes unease or unsettlement without focusing on embarrassment
to consternate
vsto discompose
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To make someone feel sudden shock and worry

creates general unease of composure rather than a sudden shock
to unglue
vsto discompose
  • Informal
7.5

To make someone lose control of their feelings

makes someone uneasy without always causing full composure loss
to unfix
vsto discompose
9.1

Make someone feel upset and unable to think clearly

affects composure more generally without implying deep mental instability
to untune
vsto discompose
  • Archaic
8.9

To make someone lose their calm and feel upset

disrupts calmness but not necessarily causing an emotional breakdown

Antonyms

163 3.4

To make someone feel less worried and more confident

33 4.7

To calm yourself after strong feelings

How Uneasy

to disturb
153 2.5
to discompose
1 9.1
to unsettle
7 4.9
to unnerve
20 6.3

Surface Forms

discompose infinitive
discomposed past participle
discomposing present participle
discomposes third person singular

Morphology

discompose = compose (semi-transparent) = dis + compose

The prefixal relation is real, but the sense is only partly guessable because learners usually know 'compose' in other senses more readily than 'calm or settle'.

Etymology

Discompose comes from the prefix dis- ('not' or 'opposite') and compose (as in 'compose yourself', meaning 'be calm'), so a helpful way to remember it is as 'undo calm'. That's why to discompose someone is to disturb them or make them feel unsettled.