discomfiting








verb (used with object)

  1. to confuse and deject; disconcert: to be discomfited by a question.
  2. to frustrate the plans of; thwart; foil.
  3. Archaic. to defeat utterly; rout: The army was discomfited in every battle.

noun

  1. Archaic. rout; defeat.

verb (tr)

  1. to make uneasy, confused, or embarrassed
  2. to frustrate the plans or purpose of
  3. archaic to defeat in battle
v.

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.

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