Dictionary

discomfit en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /dɪsˈkʌmfɪt/
• (Southern-England) audio

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.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To embarrass (someone) greatly; to confuse; to perplex; to disconcert.
   • She is a pretty, silly girl: but are you apprehensive that her titter will discomfit the old lady? 1853 January, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “The Concert”, in Villette. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 111:
   • After discomfiting her tormentors or wounding and scattering them, she would return to my side. … 1915, Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in A Far Country, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, section 1, page 46:
   • Don't worry. Your joke did not really discomfit me.
   • The Captain, with a half-guilty secret to confess, and with the prospect of a painful and stormy interview before him, entered Mr. Osborne's offices with a most dismal countenance and abashed gait, and, passing through the outer room where Mr. Chopper presided, was greeted by that functionary from his desk with a waggish air which farther discomfited him. 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “In which Mr. Osborne Takes Down the Family Bible”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 198:
   • Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 69–70:
2. (rare, transitive) To defeat the plans or hopes of; to frustrate; disconcert.
   • In these disguises, Maitland argued, he would certainly avoid recognition, and so discomfit any mischief planned by the enemies of Margaret. 1886, Andrew Lang, chapter 10, in The Mark Of Cain:
3. (archaic, transitive) To defeat completely; to rout.
   • And his proud foes discomfit in victorious field. 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 31:
   • And Joſhua diſcomfited Amalek, and his people, with the edge of the ſword. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 17:13, column 1:
   • Claudius therefore leauing this Ile, paſſed into Pomonia the chiefeſt of all the Orkenies, where diſcomfiting ſuch as appeared abroad to make reſiſtance, he beſieged the king of thoſe Iles named Ganus, within a caſtell where he was withdrawen, [...] 1585, John Hooker, “The Historie of Scotland, […]”, in The Second Volume of the Chronicles: […], London: […] Iohn Harison, George Bishop, Rafe Newberie, Henrie Denham, and Thomas Woodcocke, published January 1587, →OCLC, page 46, column 1:

Forms

Deriveds

undiscomfited

Relateds

discomfiture · discomfort

Synonyms

bring low · mortify · abash · lower · embarrass · debase · confound · overthrow · discomfit · depress · foil · disconcert · vanquish · shame · demean · abase · confuse · thwart · dishonour · disconcert · abash · put to shame · humiliate · humble · degrade

Translations (13)

fr déconfire (to embarrass greatly) · cs uvést do rozpaků (to embarrass greatly) · bg смущавам (to embarrass greatly) · es desconcertar (to embarrass greatly) · pl zakłopotać (to embarrass greatly) · de beunruhigen (to embarrass greatly) · cs vyvést z rovnováhy (to embarrass greatly) · uk розладнувати (to embarrass greatly) · bg обърквам (to embarrass greatly) · de Unbehagen bereiten (to embarrass greatly) · de aus der Fassung bringen (to embarrass greatly) · uk бентежити (to embarrass greatly) · es incomodar (to embarrass greatly)