dishevel

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled undishevelled

US /dɪˈʃɛvəl/ UK /dɪˈʃɛvəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make untidy or disordered, especially hair or clothes

The wind began to dishevel her carefully pinned hair.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make untidy or... touslerumple disorder muss ruffle disarrange tangle

Opposites

tidy smooth groom arrange neaten

Word family

Forms undisheveled

Derived forms disheveleddishevelmentdishevelled

Etymology

Back-formation from disheveled, from Middle English discheveled, from Old French descheveler ('to disarrange the hair'), from des- ('apart') + chevel ('hair'), from Latin capillus ('hair').

descheveler Old French capillus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# dishevel

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈʃɛvəl/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈʃɛvəl/

## Meanings
1. to make untidy or disordered, especially hair or clothes

## Examples
- The wind began to dishevel her carefully pinned hair.

## Synonyms
- tousle
- rumple
- disorder
- muss
- ruffle
- disarrange
- tangle

## Antonyms
- tidy
- smooth
- groom
- arrange
- neaten

## Derived Forms
- disheveled
- dishevelment
- dishevelled

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: descheveler
- Root: capillus

## Etymology
Back-formation from disheveled, from Middle English discheveled, from Old French descheveler ('to disarrange the hair'), from des- ('apart') + chevel ('hair'), from Latin capillus ('hair').

## AI Etymology
Dishevel has the etymological history Back-formation from disheveled, from Middle English discheveled, from Old French descheveler ('to disarrange the hair'), from des- ('apart') + chevel ('hair'), from Latin capillus ('hair'). The ancestry passes through Old French descheveler and Latin capillus. In present use as a verb, it means "to make untidy or disordered, especially hair or clothes", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Derived forms include disheveled, dishevelment, and dishevelled.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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