discomfit

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb cause to lose one's composure

Etymology

From Middle English discomfiten, from Old French desconfit, past participle of desconfire (“to undo, to destroy”), from des- (“completely”), from Latin dis- + Old French confire (“to make”), from Latin cōnficiō (“to finish up, to destroy”), from com- (“with, together”) + faciō (“to do, to make”). Later sense of “to embarrass, to disconcert” due to confusion with unrelated discomfort.

In classic literature

Synonyms

upset, discompose, untune, disconcert

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