disabuse

English

Etymology

From Middle French désabuser, or dis- +‎ abuse.

Pronunciation

• (UK, General American) IPA^(key): /dɪsəˈbjuːz/

Verb

disabuse (third-person singular simple present disabuses, present participle disabusing, simple past and past participle disabused)

1. (transitive) to free (someone) of a misconception or misapprehension; to unveil a falsehood held by (someone)
   • 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara, volume 1, page 201:

     I had been too profoundly disabused of life's dearest illusions ever again to allow of their sweet engrossment.

   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 140:

     If we had any hopes or illusions about the National Party before they came into office, we were disabused of them quickly.

Synonyms

• undeceive

Translations

free of a misconception

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 消除 (zh) (xiāochú), 糾正 (zh), 纠正 (zh) (jiūzhèng), 打消 (zh) (dǎxiāo)

• Dutch: ontdoen (nl), terugbrengen van een dwaling, uit de droom helpen

• Finnish: oikaista harhaluulo, oikaista väärinkäsitys
• French: détromper (fr), revenir de son erreur
• Portuguese: desenganar (pt)
• Spanish: desengañar (es)

Anagrams

• subideas