verb (used with object)
- to confuse and deject; disconcert: to be discomfited by a question.
- to frustrate the plans of; thwart; foil.
- Archaic. to defeat utterly; rout: The army was discomfited in every battle.
noun
- Archaic. rout; defeat.
verb (tr)
- to make uneasy, confused, or embarrassed
- to frustrate the plans or purpose of
- archaic to defeat in battle
c.1200, as an adjective, from Old French desconfit “vanquished, defeated,” past participle of desconfire “to defeat, destroy,” from des- “not” (see dis-) + confire “make, prepare, accomplish,” from Latin conficere (see confection).
Used as a verb in English from c.1300. Weaker sense of “disconcert” is first recorded 1520s in English, probably by confusion with discomfort. Related: Discomfited; discomfiting.