dishevel

[ dih-shev-uhl ]
See synonyms for dishevel on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),di·shev·eled, di·shev·el·ing or (especially British) di·shev·elled, di·shev·el·ling.
  1. to let down, as hair, or wear or let hang in loose disorder, as clothing.

  2. to cause untidiness and disarray in: The wind disheveled the papers on the desk.

Origin of dishevel

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; back formation from disheveled

Other words from dishevel

  • di·shev·el·ment, noun

Words Nearby dishevel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dishevel in a sentence

  • I never can get them there girls of mine to dishevel themselves in time.

    Manners, Vol 1 of 3 | Frances Brooke
  • Rich chaplets these were, that the winds might not dishevel their comely hair, and this is true i' faith.

  • Men tear their garments; women dishevel their hair; all take off their ornaments, and disfigure their faces with ashes or clay.

    Fetichism in West Africa | Robert Hamill Nassau
  • I find it clear and very clarifying, after the innumerable hours I have spent in trying to dishevel him.

British Dictionary definitions for dishevel

dishevel

/ (dɪˈʃɛvəl) /


verb-els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled
  1. to disarrange (the hair or clothes) of (someone)

Origin of dishevel

1
C15: back formation from dishevelled

Derived forms of dishevel

  • dishevelment, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012