disabuse

verb

dis·​abuse ˌdis-ə-ˈbyüz 

disabused; disabusing; disabuses

transitive verb

: to free from error, misconception, or fallacy (see fallacy sense 1a)

was quickly disabused of the idea that anything had changed

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.

Synonyms

• disenchant
• disillusion
• undeceive

Examples of disabuse in a Sentence

let me disabuse you of your foolish notions

Recent Examples on the Web

But her first few studies quickly disabused her of this notion. —science.org, 30 Oct. 2024

The Menendez Brothers completely disabuses the viewer of that notion. —Jen Chaney, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2024

Working as a journalist, with occasional glimpses into life on the road, in the studio, or backstage, has done little to disabuse me of my fascination. —Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

Israeli officials are doing little to disabuse the sense that war will continue. —Alexander Smith, NBC News, 18 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French désabuser, from dés- dis- + abuser to abuse

First Known Use

1669, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

disabuse

verb

dis·​abuse ˌdis-ə-ˈbyüz 

: to free from mistakes or false beliefs

disabuse us of our errors