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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

disabuse

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster

Arts, Literature, Language Courses, Education

4.31.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2023

⏱️ 2 minutes

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Summary

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 18, 2023 is:

disabuse • \diss-uh-BYOOZ\  • verb

To disabuse someone of something, such as a belief, is to show or convince them that the belief is incorrect.

// Anyone expecting a light, romantic story will be quickly disabused of that notion by the opening chapter of the novel.

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Examples:

“Wineries that persist in using heavier glass continue to blame us—consumers—for believing a heavy bottle signals a better wine. We should disabuse them of their belief in our gullibility. These peacock bottles, strutting to catch our attention, won't work.” — Dave Mcintyre, The Washington Post, 29 Apr. 2023

Did you know?

Taken as a product of its parts, one might assume that disabuse means “to not abuse.” While the usage has changed over the years, that assumption isn’t entirely wrong. We know the verb abuse as a word with various meanings having to do with bad physical or verbal treatment, as well as incorrect or excessive use, but when disabuse first appeared in the 17th century, there was a sense of abuse, now obsolete, that meant “to deceive.” Francis Bacon used that meaning, for example, when he wrote in 1605, “You are much abused if you think your virtue can withstand the King’s power.” The prefix dis- has the sense of undoing the effect of a verb, so it’s logical that disabuse means “to undeceive.” English speakers didn’t come up with the idea of joining dis- to abuse all on their own, however. It was the French who first appended their prefix dés- to their verb abuser; our disabuse is modeled after the French word désabuser.



Transcript

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0:00.0

It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 18th.

0:11.3

Today's word is disabuse, spelled DISA-B-B-B-B-S-E, disabuse is a verb. To disabuse someone of something such as a

0:20.8

belief is to show or convince them that the belief is incorrect.

0:25.7

Here's the word used in a sentence from the Washington Post by Dave McIntyre.

0:32.0

Wineries that persist in using heavier glass

0:36.0

continue to blame us, consumers, for believing a heavy bottle signals a better wine.

0:42.0

We should disabuse them of their belief in our

0:45.2

gullibility. These peacock bottles strutting to catch our attention won't work.

0:52.3

Taken as a product of its parts, one might assume that the word

0:56.6

disabuse means to not abuse. While the usage has changed over the years years that assumption isn't entirely wrong.

1:05.2

We know the verb abuse as a word with various meanings having to do with bad physical or verbal treatment

1:11.9

as well as incorrect or excessive use.

1:15.4

But when disabuse first appeared in the 17th century, there was a sense of abuse, now obsolete, that meant to deceive.

1:24.0

Francis Bacon used that meaning for example when he wrote in 1605

1:28.0

you are much abused if you think your virtue can withstand the king's power.

1:34.0

The prefix D.I.S. has the sense of undoing the effect of a verb,

1:40.0

so it's logical that disabused means to undeceive.

1:45.0

English speakers didn't come up with the idea of joining dis to abuse all on their own however.

1:51.0

It was the French who first appended their prefix, des des des, des, with their verb, abusé. Our disabuse is modeled

2:00.6

after the French word de Zabuse.

2:03.4

With your word of the day I'm Peter Sokolowski.

2:09.4

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