dishevel
/dɪ(s)ˈʃɛvl̩/ verb
Forms dishevels disheveling dishevelling disheveled dishevelled
- verb (transitive) To throw into disorder; upheave. “The wind disheveled the papers on the desk.”
- verb (transitive) To disarrange or loosen (hair, clothing, etc.).
- verb (intransitive) To spread out in disorder.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Old French descheveler (modern French écheveler, ultimately from Old French chevel).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To suffer (the hair) to hang loosely or disorderly; to spread or throw (the hair) in disorder; --used chiefly in the passive participle.
- verb To spread loosely or disorderly.
- verb To be spread in disorder or hang negligently, as the hair. [R.]
Etymology [OF. descheveler, F. décheveler, LL. discapillare; dis- + L. capillus the hair of the head. See Capillary.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “dishevel”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details