discomfit
transitive verb
- Archaic to defeat; overthrow
- to frustrate the plans or expectations of
- to make uneasy; disconcert
See discomfit in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(dĭs-kŭmˈfĭt)
transitive verb dis·com·fit·ed,
dis·com·fit·ing,
dis·com·fits - To make uneasy or perplexed; disconcert. See Synonyms at embarrass.
- To thwart the plans of; frustrate.
- Archaic To defeat in battle; vanquish.
noun Discomfiture.
Usage Note: It is true that
discomfit originally meant “to defeat, frustrate” and that its newer use meaning “to embarrass, disconcert” probably arose in part through confusion with
discomfort. But the newer sense is now the most common use of the verb in all varieties of writing and should be considered entirely standard.
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