disabuse
verb
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.
Examples of disabuse in a Sentence
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2025
Doing so would disabuse Iranian officials of any notion that Biden officials’ past criticism of Trump’s maximum pressure approach means that sanctions will simply be permitted to weaken or lapse in the absence of a deal.
—Michael Singh, Foreign Affairs, 25 Oct. 2021
Josh tried to disabuse her of the mistaken identity, but the woman wasn’t having it.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Josh tried to disabuse her of the mistaken identity, but the woman wasn’t having it.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for disabuse
Cite this Entry
“Disabuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disabuse. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
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disabuse
verb
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