What does disconcerted mean?
Word: Disconcerted
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Disconcerted means worried, confused or embarrassed because something unexpected has happened.
Synonyms: unsettled, rattled, perturbed
Antonyms: composed, calm, unruffled
Word origin: From obsolete French desconcerter, to upset the progress of something.
How do you spell disconcerted?
Syllables: dis - con - cert - ed
Tricky part: The s sound in the middle is spelt with a c, because the word concert sits inside it.
Watch out for: disconserted, disconcertted, disconcerded
Memory tip: Find concert inside the word: a singer who forgets her lines at a concert feels disconcerted.
Disconcerted in a sentence
Example 1: The actor seemed disconcerted when the lights went out in the middle of his scene.
Example 2: I was disconcerted to find a stranger sitting at my desk.
Example 3: Nothing disconcerted the calm old shopkeeper, not even a crowd of customers.
Fun Fact
The French verb concerter meant to bring together, so to be disconcerted is to have your plans or thoughts pulled out of order.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt wrongly. Choose its meaning:
1. disconcerted 2. indignent 3. apprehensive 4. perplexed
a) angry about something unfair
b) anxious about what may happen
c) unsettled by something unexpected
d) puzzled and unable to understand
Show answer
a) angry about something unfair. Indignant ends in ant, so indignent is the misspelt word.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The speaker looked tedcronsdeci when the microphone suddenly went dead.
a) disconnected
b) disinterested
c) discontented
d) disconcerted
Show answer
d) disconcerted. Only one n, but two c's and an r: disconcerted fits, and no other option does.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word disconcerted as used in the sentence:
Her sharp question left the visiting minister disconcerted for a moment.
a) delighted
b) confident
c) flustered
d) bored
Show answer
c) flustered. A flustered speaker loses the thread for a moment, just as the minister did.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
dissconcerted
a) s
b) c
c) e
d) n
Show answer
a) s. The prefix dis has a single s, so the second s is the extra one.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which event would most likely leave a speaker disconcerted?
a) a clear, steady microphone
b) a phone ringing mid-speech
c) a friendly round of applause
d) a glass of water on the desk
Show answer
b) a phone ringing mid-speech
2. A person who looks disconcerted feels ____.
a) full of energy
b) thrown off balance
c) sleepy and calm
d) proud and confident
Show answer
b) thrown off balance
