Standard Lemma guide

discomfiture

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /dɪsˈkʌmfɪtʃə(ɹ)/
  • UK: /dɪsˈkʊmfɪtʃə/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Defeat in battle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, obsolete, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An emotional state similar to that arising from defeat; frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

anxious embarrassment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: discomposure, disconcertion, disconcertment

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: embarrassment, anxiety

History

Etymology

From Old French desconfiture (“rout, defeat”); compare French déconfiture.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: объркване (obǎrkvane) — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Bulgarian: смущение (smuštenie) — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • German: Unbehagen — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • German: Peinlichkeit — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Greek: ντρόπιασμα (ntrópiasma) — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Māori: hūhi — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Norwegian: uro — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Polish: zakłopotanie — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Romanian: jenă — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Romanian: stinghereală — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Romanian: stânjeneală — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Russian: замеша́тельство (zamešátelʹstvo) — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Russian: смуще́ние (smuščénije) — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment
  • Russian: конфу́з (konfúz) — a feeling of frustration, disappointment, perplexity or embarrassment