noun / verb
disarray
dis-uh-RAY/ˌdɪsəˈreɪ/
A state of disorder or confusion, or putting something into that state.
The sewing table is in disarray, with thread and fabric scattered across it.
Etymology
Array meant an ordered arrangement, so its reversal gives disorder or confusion. The noun may instead have been taken whole from Old French desarroi, rather than formed from dis- and array.
In context
the disarray of the halls was gone everything was in its proper place
More examples
- Conflicting instructions disarrayed the team’s plans.
- The unexpected resignation threw the office into disarray.
- Books and papers lay in disarray across the floor.
Forms
disarray · disarrays · disarrayed · disarraying
Similar words
- disorder
- Disorder is the general absence of organization; disarray can suggest things scattered out of their proper arrangement.
- confusion
- Confusion concerns unclear thought or mixed-up circumstances; disarray can be visibly physical disorder.