"discombobulate" meaning in English

See discombobulate in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /ˌdɪs.kəmˈbɒb.jəˌleɪt/ Audio: en-us-discombobulate.ogg , en-au-discombobulate.ogg Forms: discombobulates [present, singular, third-person], discombobulating [participle, present], discombobulated [participle, past], discombobulated [past]
Etymology: 1834 US, fanciful variant of discompose, discomfit, etc., originally discombobricate. Head templates: {{en-verb}} discombobulate (third-person singular simple present discombobulates, present participle discombobulating, simple past and past participle discombobulated)
  1. (transitive, humorous) To throw into a state of confusion; to befuddle or perplex. Tags: humorous, transitive Synonyms: discomboberate, discombulate, discombobricate, discombooberate Translations (befuddle): 使困惑 (shǐ kùnhuò) (Chinese Mandarin), 使迷惑 (shǐ míhuò) (Chinese Mandarin), zblbnout (Czech), vykolejit (Czech), forvirre (Danish), in de war schoppen (Dutch), verstoren (Dutch), hämmentää (Finnish), hämätä (Finnish), panna pasmat sekaisin (Finnish), décontenancer (French), déconfire (French), déconcerter (French), verwirren (German), összezavar (Hungarian), megzavar (Hungarian), scombussolare (Italian), forvirre (Norwegian Bokmål), forvirre (Norwegian Nynorsk), сбить с толку (sbitʹ s tolku) [neuter] (Russian), смути́ть (smutítʹ) [neuter] (Russian), вы́бить из колеи (výbitʹ iz kolei) [neuter] (Russian), збунити (zbuniti) (Serbo-Croatian), помутити (pomutiti) (Serbo-Croatian), избити из колосека (izbiti iz koloseka) (Serbo-Croatian), desconcertar (Spanish), confundir (Spanish), förvirra (Swedish)

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "combobulate"
    },
    {
      "word": "recombobulate"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "1834 US, fanciful variant of discompose, discomfit, etc., originally discombobricate.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "discombobulates",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "discombobulating",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "discombobulated",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "discombobulated",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "discombobulate (third-person singular simple present discombobulates, present participle discombobulating, simple past and past participle discombobulated)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with dis-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ate (verb)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Serbo-Croatian terms with redundant script codes",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant script codes",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1895, John Kendrick Bangs, “Story-tellers' Night”, in A House-Boat on the Styx, New York: Harper & Brothers, published 1901, page 132:",
          "text": "Can't you and I pretend to quarrel? A personal assault by you on me will wake these people up and discombobulate Goldsmith. Say the word—only don't hit too hard.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999 December 13, Anthony Tommasini, “MUSIC REVIEW; Plenty Of Zigzags, But Hold The Angst”, in The New York Times, page E3:",
          "text": "The notes zigzag in his pieces and discombobulate the ear, just as in 12-tone works.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 December 25, Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, Simon Kinberg, 17:18 from the start, in Sherlock Holmes, spoken by Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.):",
          "text": "First, distract target. Then block his blind jab. Counter with cross to left cheek. Discombobulate. Dazed, he'll attempt wild haymaker. Employ elbow block.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To throw into a state of confusion; to befuddle or perplex."
      ],
      "id": "en-discombobulate-en-verb-SeK~YQxL",
      "links": [
        [
          "humorous",
          "humorous"
        ],
        [
          "throw",
          "throw"
        ],
        [
          "state",
          "state"
        ],
        [
          "confusion",
          "confusion"
        ],
        [
          "befuddle",
          "befuddle"
        ],
        [
          "perplex",
          "perplex"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, humorous) To throw into a state of confusion; to befuddle or perplex."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "discomboberate"
        },
        {
          "word": "discombulate"
        },
        {
          "word": "discombobricate"
        },
        {
          "word": "discombooberate"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "shǐ kùnhuò",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "使困惑"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "shǐ míhuò",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "使迷惑"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "zblbnout"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "vykolejit"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "forvirre"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "in de war schoppen"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "verstoren"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "hämmentää"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "hämätä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "panna pasmat sekaisin"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "décontenancer"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "déconfire"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "déconcerter"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "verwirren"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "összezavar"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "megzavar"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "scombussolare"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "forvirre"
        },
        {
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "forvirre"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "sbitʹ s tolku",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "сбить с толку"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "smutítʹ",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "смути́ть"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "výbitʹ iz kolei",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "вы́бить из колеи"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "roman": "zbuniti",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "збунити"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "roman": "pomutiti",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "помутити"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "roman": "izbiti iz koloseka",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "избити из колосека"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "desconcertar"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "confundir"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "befuddle",
          "word": "förvirra"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌdɪs.kəmˈbɒb.jəˌleɪt/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-discombobulate.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/94/En-us-discombobulate.ogg/En-us-discombobulate.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/En-us-discombobulate.ogg"
    },
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      "audio": "en-au-discombobulate.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/6/6b/En-au-discombobulate.ogg/En-au-discombobulate.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/En-au-discombobulate.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "discombobulate"
}
{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "combobulate"
    },
    {
      "word": "recombobulate"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "1834 US, fanciful variant of discompose, discomfit, etc., originally discombobricate.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "discombobulates",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "discombobulating",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "discombobulated",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "discombobulated",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "discombobulate (third-person singular simple present discombobulates, present participle discombobulating, simple past and past participle discombobulated)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English humorous terms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English terms prefixed with dis-",
        "English terms suffixed with -ate (verb)",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Serbo-Croatian terms with redundant script codes",
        "Terms with Czech translations",
        "Terms with Danish translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
        "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1895, John Kendrick Bangs, “Story-tellers' Night”, in A House-Boat on the Styx, New York: Harper & Brothers, published 1901, page 132:",
          "text": "Can't you and I pretend to quarrel? A personal assault by you on me will wake these people up and discombobulate Goldsmith. Say the word—only don't hit too hard.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999 December 13, Anthony Tommasini, “MUSIC REVIEW; Plenty Of Zigzags, But Hold The Angst”, in The New York Times, page E3:",
          "text": "The notes zigzag in his pieces and discombobulate the ear, just as in 12-tone works.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009 December 25, Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, Simon Kinberg, 17:18 from the start, in Sherlock Holmes, spoken by Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.):",
          "text": "First, distract target. Then block his blind jab. Counter with cross to left cheek. Discombobulate. Dazed, he'll attempt wild haymaker. Employ elbow block.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To throw into a state of confusion; to befuddle or perplex."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "humorous",
          "humorous"
        ],
        [
          "throw",
          "throw"
        ],
        [
          "state",
          "state"
        ],
        [
          "confusion",
          "confusion"
        ],
        [
          "befuddle",
          "befuddle"
        ],
        [
          "perplex",
          "perplex"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, humorous) To throw into a state of confusion; to befuddle or perplex."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌdɪs.kəmˈbɒb.jəˌleɪt/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-discombobulate.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/94/En-us-discombobulate.ogg/En-us-discombobulate.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/En-us-discombobulate.ogg"
    },
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/En-au-discombobulate.ogg"
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  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "discomboberate"
    },
    {
      "word": "discombulate"
    },
    {
      "word": "discombobricate"
    },
    {
      "word": "discombooberate"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "shǐ kùnhuò",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "使困惑"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "shǐ míhuò",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "使迷惑"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "zblbnout"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "vykolejit"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "forvirre"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "in de war schoppen"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "verstoren"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "hämmentää"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "hämätä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "panna pasmat sekaisin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "décontenancer"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "déconfire"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "déconcerter"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "verwirren"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "összezavar"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "megzavar"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "scombussolare"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "forvirre"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "forvirre"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "sbitʹ s tolku",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "сбить с толку"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "smutítʹ",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "смути́ть"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "výbitʹ iz kolei",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "вы́бить из колеи"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "roman": "zbuniti",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "збунити"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "roman": "pomutiti",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "помутити"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "roman": "izbiti iz koloseka",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "избити из колосека"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "desconcertar"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "confundir"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "befuddle",
      "word": "förvirra"
    }
  ],
  "word": "discombobulate"
}

Download raw JSONL data for discombobulate meaning in English (6.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.