Disarray Meaning
/dɪsəˈɹeɪ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo throw into disorder; to break the array of.
verbTo take off the dress of; to unrobe.
Sentence Examples
Dan's bedroom was in disarray.
After all the merrymaking, the apartment was in great disarray.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the earthquake, the entire office was in ____ with papers scattered everywhere.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Dan's bedroom was in ____.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English disareyen (“to disarray”), from Middle French desarroyer, from Old French desareer, from des- (“dis-”) + areer (“to array”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Who with fiery steeds / Oft disarray'd the foes in battle ranged."
— 1726, Elijah Fenton, Odyssey:
"So as she bad, that witch they disaraid"
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 46:
"So, in order to apply a good medicine to the hurt parts of the wildish psyche, in order to aright relationship to the archetype of the Wild Woman, one has to name the disarrays of the psyche accurately."
— 1992, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run with the Wolves, Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype, page 9:
"Tottenham pushed forward in an attempt to complete the recovery - but only succeeded in leaving themselves wide open to Chelsea's attacks and Redknapp's side ended in total disarray."
— 2012 April 15, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea”, in BBC:
"On leaving the train at Piccadilly, everything goes 'Pete Tong'. Services are in complete disarray, as a tree has come down onto the line at Gatley."
— 2024 October 30, Paul Bigland, “The heat is on... and will the railway fray”, in RAIL, number 1021, page 46:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the earthquake, the entire office was in ____ with papers scattered everywhere.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Dan's bedroom was in ____.