Disorder

//dɪsˈɔːdə(ɹ)// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Absence of order; state of not being arranged in an orderly manner. countable, uncountable

    "After playing the children left the room in disorder."

  2. 2
    a disturbance of the peace or of public order wordnet
  3. 3
    A disturbance of civic peace or of public order. countable, uncountable

    "The class was thrown into disorder when the teacher left the room"

  4. 4
    a physical condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning wordnet
  5. 5
    A physical or mental malfunction. countable

    "Bulimia is an eating disorder."

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    a condition in which things are not in their expected places wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To throw into a state of disorder. transitive
  2. 2
    bring disorder to wordnet
  3. 3
    To knock out of order or sequence. transitive
  4. 4
    disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
chaosdisarraydisorderlinessperturbriotturmoil

Example

More examples

"The desk is in a state of total disorder."

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French desordre (modern French désordre), from Old French desordre, from des- + ordre; by surface analysis, dis- + order.

Related phrases

Down syndrome regression disorderHartnup disorderHeller's disorderInternet addiction disorderTourette's disorderacquired disorderadjustment disorderaffective disorderalcohol use disorderamputee identity disorderanti-social personality disorderantisocial personality disorder

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