disorder

Pluraldisorders

Formsdisorders, disordering, disordered

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A lack of order; the state of things not being arranged neatly or in any systematic way.

   The general's papers lay in disorder across the desk.

   Years of neglect had left the archive in such disorder that nothing could be found.

   Similardisarray, chaos, confusion, mess, untidiness

   Oppositeorder, tidiness, neatness, organization

   Note

   The root sense of the word, formed in French before English borrowed it: Middle French desordre, from des- plus ordre. That is why it reads so naturally as dis- + order. Its commonest frame is in disorder (left the room in disorder), and the state need not be grim: John le Carré's A Perfect Spy (1986) describes a household in "permanent and benevolent disorder."

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A physical or mental malfunction; an illness that affects the normal functioning of the body or mind.

   The clinic specializes in treating eating disorders.

   An anxiety disorder can make everyday tasks feel overwhelming.

   Similarcondition, illness, disease, ailment, syndrome

   Note

   Medicine uses the word as a count noun: one condition among others, usually named by what it affects, as in an eating disorder or an anxiety disorder. Clinicians tell one disorder from another by its characteristic signs, symptoms and underlying mechanism. Unlike the general sense of mess, it is always countable. A patient has a disorder, never simply disorder.

3. 3
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A breakdown of public peace, such as rioting or unrest that breaches civic order in a community.

   Troops were deployed to quell the disorder in the capital.

   The new law aims to prevent public disorder during large gatherings.

   Similarunrest, rioting, disturbance, turmoil, lawlessness

   Oppositeorder, peace, calm, stability

4. 4
   verbtransitive

   To throw something into a state of confusion or mess, upsetting its arrangement.

   The earthquake disordered everything stored in the warehouse.

   A sudden panic can disorder even the best-laid plans.

   Similardisrupt, upset, disarrange, jumble, disturb

   Oppositeorder, arrange, organize, tidy

5. 5
   verbtransitive

   To knock something out of its proper order or sequence.

   The clumsy intern disordered the carefully numbered archive.

   A single misplaced entry can disorder the entire sequence.

   Similarscramble, shuffle, jumble, disarrange, muddle

   Oppositeorder, sort, arrange

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