discomfit
verb /dɪsˈkʌmfɪt/
/dɪsˈkʌmfɪt/
[often passive] (literary)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they discomfit | /dɪsˈkʌmfɪt/ /dɪsˈkʌmfɪt/ |
| he / she / it discomfits | /dɪsˈkʌmfɪts/ /dɪsˈkʌmfɪts/ |
| past simple discomfited | /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtɪd/ /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtɪd/ |
| past participle discomfited | /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtɪd/ /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form discomfiting | /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtɪŋ/ /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtɪŋ/ |
- to make somebody feel confused or embarrassed
- be discomfited (by something) He was not noticeably discomfited by the request.
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘defeat in battle’): from Old French desconfit, past participle of desconfire, based on Latin dis- (expressing reversal) + conficere ‘put together’, from con- ‘together’ + facere ‘make’.