by Ruth Belena

Created on: May 29, 2009

Every writer should understand the meaning of "discombobulate". It is a word that is useful to know, and is enjoyable to use.

To discombobulate means to create a sense of confusion and bewilderment which is unsettling and disconcerting to the person who is being discombobulated.

The first real identification of the word "discombobulate" comes from a study of dialect terms undertaken in 1916. The word appears to have been in use in New England, so it is almost certainly American in origin. Now the word can be used effectively by any speaker or writer of English, and its meaning will be generally understood.

A few pedantic linguists may reject the word as being a made up piece of slang, and dismiss it as a non-word, while other lovers of language consider it a welcome addition to spoken and written English.

The word "discombobulate"has a wonderful resonance when spoken out loud, or when written down and read. The derivatives of discombobulate, (discombobulate, discombobulated, discombobulating, discombobulation), are all attention grabbing words that stand out and have great appeal. Hearing or reading any of those words for the first time will, at the very least, create the necessity of looking up the meaning in a dictionary.

It is a word that is begs repetition. Having discovered the word, it is tempting to drop it into conversation. Indeed, the very use of the word could discombobulate a listener who has never heard it before.

It is not a word to be overused in literature or repeated too often in prose or poetry, but when it is used it can have a pleasurable effect upon the reader. Seeing the word in print or on the screen, and knowing its meaning, is rather like renewing an old acquaintance, and enjoying the recognition.

A speaker could deliberately aim to discombobulate an audience or an individual, if that person really wanted to cause anxiety and to unsettle minds. However it would be unusual for someone to write a book, a story, or an article, with the intention of discombobulating readers. That is not to say it has never been tried.

Writers generally make an effort not to discombobulate their readers, if the purpose of writing is to inform, explain, instruct, interpret or to entertain. None of these purposes can be achieved when readers are discombobulated by what is written.

There seems to be some debate as to whether or not there is a word that means the opposite of discombobulate. Perhaps that is because there are many words meaning clear and concise, comprehensive and reassuring. Discombobulation is the opposite of all of those, and trying to think of an antonym is in itself somewhat discombobulating.

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