Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

disengagement en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˌdɪs.ɪŋˈɡeɪd͡ʒ.mənt/
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From dis- + engage + -ment.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) Release or detachment from a physical situation or other involvement.
    • “Miss Vernon,” I said, “Mr Rashleigh, has recommended me to return my thanks to you for my speedy disengagement from the ridiculous accusation of Morris;[…]” 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter X, in Rob Roy. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, pages 238–239:
    • moral disengagement
  2. (countable, uncountable) The release or separation of a chemical.
    • The Indians of the Orellanna, also, tell of horrible noises heard occasionally in the Paraguaxo, […] Others have endeavored to account for these discharges of "mountain artillery" on humbler principles; attributing them […] to the disengagement of hydrogen, produced by subterraneous beds of coal in a state of ignition. 1836 October, Washington Irving, chapter XXVI, in Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea, & Blanchard, →OCLC, page 254:
  3. (countable, uncountable) Withdrawal from combat, confrontation, or the assertion of influence.
  4. (countable, uncountable) Termination of an agreement to be married.
  5. (countable, uncountable) A circular movement of the blade that blocks an opponent's parry.
    • There was a quick flash, a disengagement, a feint, a lunge that was like a man's, and as her long left arm shot out like lightning, her foil bent nearly double. 1895, Francis Marion Crawford, chapter 23, in Taquisara:
  6. (countable, uncountable) The emergence of the fetus from the birth canal.
  7. (countable, dated, uncountable) Leisure; relief from responsibilities or onerous activities.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
disengagements Number=Plur lexicographic

Relateds

disengage · engage · engagement

Translations (2)

it cavazione (circular movement of a blade in fencing) · de Entlobung (termination of an agreement to be married)