Basic Details
Word: Disconnected
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Cut off or separated from something, such as a power supply or phone line; also (of ideas or speech) not linked in a clear order.
Synonyms: detached, unplugged, separated, cut off
Antonyms: connected, linked, coherent
How to Spell Disconnected
Syllables: dis - con - nect - ed
Tricky part: The double n of connect stays, and there is still only one s at the front.
Watch out for: disconected, dissconnected, disconnectted
Memory tip: Connect is con + nect, which is where its two n's come from. Dis goes on the front without changing anything: dis-con-nect-ed.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The phone was disconnected because the bill had not been paid.
Example 2: Unplug the iron and make sure it is disconnected before you leave.
Example 3: After weeks in hospital, he felt disconnected from his friends.
Fun Fact
Connect comes from Latin conectere, made of con, together, and nectere, to bind or tie.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Dis can be added to only one of these words. Which one?
dis
a) connect
b) direct
c) active
d) visible
Show answer
a) connect. Visible, active and direct take in: invisible, inactive, indirect.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
When the storm knocked down the cable, our internet was disconected for nearly two days and the whole family read books instead.
a) family
b) disconected
c) nearly
d) internet
Show answer
b) disconected. Connect carries a double n, and the longer word keeps it.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word disconnected as used in the sentence:
His answers were so disconnected that the interviewer could not follow his story.
a) jumbled
b) confused
c) coherent
d) rambling
Show answer
c) coherent. Coherent answers hang together clearly, the reverse of what the interviewer heard.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If a call gets disconnected, ____.
a) a third person joins in
b) the phone rings again
c) the line suddenly goes dead
d) the voices become louder
Show answer
c) the line suddenly goes dead
2. Disconnected ideas in an essay are ideas that ____.
a) come from a famous book
b) are written very neatly
c) are all about one topic
d) do not link to each other
Show answer
d) do not link to each other
