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Definition of disconcertnext

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb disconcert contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of disconcert are abash, discomfit, embarrass, and rattle. While all these words mean "to distress by confusing or confounding," disconcert implies an upsetting of equanimity or assurance producing uncertainty or hesitancy.

disconcerted by finding so many in attendance

When is it sensible to use abash instead of disconcert?

The meanings of abash and disconcert largely overlap; however, abash presupposes some initial self-confidence that receives a sudden check, producing shyness, shame, or a feeling of inferiority.

abashed by her swift and cutting retort

When can discomfit be used instead of disconcert?

The words discomfit and disconcert can be used in similar contexts, but discomfit implies a hampering or frustrating accompanied by confusion.

hecklers discomfited the speaker

When would embarrass be a good substitute for disconcert?

In some situations, the words embarrass and disconcert are roughly equivalent. However, embarrass implies some influence that impedes thought, speech, or action.

the question embarrassed her so much she couldn't answer

When might rattle be a better fit than disconcert?

Although the words rattle and disconcert have much in common, rattle implies an agitation that impairs thought and judgment.

rattled by all the television cameras

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of disconcert Perhaps as disconcerting as anything is the lack of circumstances that would create such confusion. Alec Lewis, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025 The Garfield of the book is, so far anyway, the Garfield of the show, carrying a humility and nobility that’s frankly disconcerting coming from Michael Shannon, who’s usually cast as more wayward types. Scott Tobias, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025 The code, though, is currently often replete with disconcerting troubles. Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025 This detail, at once tragic and comic, painfully human and stupidly bureaucratic, captures something essential about Schattenfroh, an extremely dark novel about the horrors of modern European history laced with the delirious, disconcerting humor of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Book Marks september 11, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for disconcert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disconcert
Verb
  • The report reiterated concerns about seven situations, two of which have been on the list since 2007, including the bureaucracy’s chronic inability to successfully employ information technology — embarrassing for a state that is the global center for digital tools.
    Dan Walters, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
  • The report reiterated concerns about seven situations, two of which have been on the list since 2007, including the bureaucracy’s chronic inability to successfully employ information technology — embarrassing for a state that is the global center for digital tools.
    Dan Walters, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse.
    Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Canales-Pelaez said that local departments may be confusing administrative warrants with criminal ones, or overcomplying to avoid backlash from the state Legislature.
    Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 10 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • The run-in may have been awkward on-screen, but Franceschini wasn't flustered.
    Colleen Kratofil, PEOPLE, 19 Dec. 2025
  • Pinnick in a series of plays can fluster his coaches for extending a play when maybe throwing the ball away might be wiser.
    Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 13 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • Pulling up from the free-throw line with a defender a few feet ahead, Andrews’ midrange jumper rattled inside the basket before popping back out as the buzzer sounded.
    Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 9 Jan. 2026
  • When shopkeepers in the narrow streets of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar protested the government’s failing economic policies, their chants rattled the regime.
    Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Disconcert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disconcert. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on disconcert

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