disorientate

English

Etymology

From dis- +‎ orientate. Not a back-formation from disorientation, which is attested much later and is perhaps from disorientate.

Verb

disorientate (third-person singular simple present disorientates, present participle disorientating, simple past and past participle disorientated)

1. (sometimes proscribed) Alternative form of disorient
   • 1941, Frederic William Eggleston, Search for a Social Philosophy, page 254:

     Ideas often disorientate a system which has been formed on a particular pattern and make it inapplicable; so ideas may lead to the readjustment of groups and sometimes of political boundaries.

Derived terms

• disorientation

Translations

to cause to lose orientation or direction — see disorient

References

• “orient, orientate, disorient”, in Writing Tips Plus (Canada.ca), Ottawa, Ont.: Government of Canada, 2020 February 28: “The verbs orient and orientate are both acceptable, with orient being more common in North America. […] The antonym for both verbs is disorient; disorientate is non–standard English.”

Italian

Etymology 1

Verb

disorientate

1. inflection of disorientare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

Participle

disorientate f pl

1. feminine plural of disorientato