disorder
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a state where things are messy, untidy, or not organized.
n.the absence of order or systematic arrangement; a state of confusion or untidiness.
Simple“The sudden wind left the garden in a state of complete disorder.”
In context“The office fell into total disorder after the filing system was accidentally deleted during the server migration.”
Antonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
n.violent or noisy behavior by a large group of people in public.
n.a disturbance of civic peace or public order, typically involving protest or violence.
Simple“The police were called to the city center to stop the civil disorder.”
In context“The government feared that the rising food prices would lead to widespread civil disorder and strikes across the capital.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to make something messy or break its organized pattern.
v.to disrupt the order, arrangement, or sequence of something. Transitive — requires a direct object.
Simple“The cat jumped on the desk and managed to disorder all my papers.”
In context“The unexpected arrival of the guests served to disorder her carefully planned schedule for the afternoon.”
Usage disorder symptoms · anxiety disorder · mental disorder
“Its particles are disordered, much as they were in the liquid from which the glass formed, but are trapped in place.”
“For me, it has been important to understand that a monthly desire to explode my life is probably a mild form of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).”
Borrowed from Middle French desordre (modern French désordre), from Old French desordre, from des- + ordre; by surface analysis, dis- + order.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.