Dishevel

//dɪ(s)ˈʃɛvl̩// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To throw into disorder; upheave. transitive

    "The wind disheveled the papers on the desk."

  2. 2
    disarrange or rumple; dishevel wordnet
  3. 3
    To disarrange or loosen (hair, clothing, etc.). transitive

    "With garments rent, and haire discheueled, / Wringing her hands, and making piteous mone;"

  4. 4
    To spread out in disorder. intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
tousledisarrayruffleclutterconfusederange

Example

More examples

"The wind disheveled the papers on the desk."

Etymology

From Old French descheveler (modern French écheveler).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.