disenchant

C2 Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /ˌdɪsɪnˈtʃænt/ UK /ˌdɪsɪnˈtʃɑːnt/ See IPA manual

Freq #237732

Meanings

1

verb
to cause someone to lose an idealized belief, admiration, or enthusiasm; to disillusion

Repeated corruption scandals disenchanted many voters with the reform movement.
2

verb
in fantasy or folklore, to free someone or something from a magic spell

Only the hidden amulet could disenchant the prince and restore his human form.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to cause someone to lose an... disillusion disappoint undeceive

2 verb · in fantasy or folklore, to... break the spell onfree from enchantment

Opposites

enchant captivate beguile delude

Word family

Forms disenchanted

Derived forms disenchanteddisenchanterdisenchantinglydisenchantment

Related forms enchant illusion disillusion spell

Etymology

From French desenchanter, now analyzable as dis- ("reverse, remove") + enchant. It first meant removing a literal magic spell; the dominant figurative sense treats an attractive false belief as an enchantment from which someone awakens.

Topics

Mind & Cognition

External links

# disenchant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˌdɪsɪnˈtʃænt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌdɪsɪnˈtʃɑːnt/
**Frequency rank:** 237732

## Meanings
1. to cause someone to lose an idealized belief, admiration, or enthusiasm; to disillusion
2. in fantasy or folklore, to free someone or something from a magic spell

## Examples
- Repeated corruption scandals disenchanted many voters with the reform movement.
- Only the hidden amulet could disenchant the prince and restore his human form.

## Synonyms
- disillusion
- disappoint
- undeceive
- break the spell on

## Antonyms
- enchant
- captivate
- beguile
- delude

## Derived Forms
- disenchanted
- disenchanter
- disenchantingly
- disenchantment

## Related Forms
- enchant
- illusion
- disillusion
- spell

## Etymology
From French desenchanter, now analyzable as dis- ("reverse, remove") + enchant. It first meant removing a literal magic spell; the dominant figurative sense treats an attractive false belief as an enchantment from which someone awakens.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition

markdown