English Meaning & Definitions
Untidy, disordered, or disarranged in appearance, especially regarding a person's hair or clothing.
- “He arrived at the interview looking disheveled, with his shirt untucked and his hair uncombed.”
- “After the long flight, the passengers emerged from the plane looking tired and disheveled.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “disheveled”.
Derived from the Middle English 'discheveled', which comes from the Old French 'deschevelé', meaning 'disordered hair'. This is formed from the prefix 'des-' (meaning 'apart' or 'away') and 'chevel' (from the Latin 'capillus', meaning 'hair'). Historically, it specifically referred to someone with their hair hanging loose or unkempt, rather than tied up in a formal style.
Think of 'dish' and 'hevel' (hell): If you drop a dish in hell, your hair might end up messy and disheveled.
Frequently Asked Questions About “disheveled”
1. What is the meaning of “disheveled” in English?
In English, disheveled (adjective) is defined as: “Untidy, disordered, or disarranged in appearance, especially regarding a person's hair or clothing.”.
2. How do you use “disheveled” in a sentence?
“He arrived at the interview looking disheveled, with his shirt untucked and his hair uncombed.”
3. What are English synonyms of “disheveled”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “disheveled”?
Derived from the Middle English 'discheveled', which comes from the Old French 'deschevelé', meaning 'disordered hair'. This is formed from the prefix 'des-' (meaning 'apart' or 'away') and 'chevel' (from the Latin 'capillus', meaning 'hair'). Historically, it specifically referred to someone with their hair hanging loose or unkempt, rather than tied up in a formal style.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
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A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.