Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To free from a falsehood or misconception: I must disabuse you of your feelings of grandeur.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To free from mistake; undeceive; relieve from fallacy or deception; set right: as, it is our duty to disabuse ourselves of false notions and prejudices.
Wiktionary
- v. To free (someone) term a misconception or misapprehension; to unveil a falsehood held by (somebody).
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To set free from mistakes; to undeceive; to disengage from fallacy or deception; to set right; -- often used with of.
WordNet 3.0
- v. free somebody (from an erroneous belief)
Etymologies
- French désabuser : dés-, dis- + abuser, to delude (from Old French, to misuse; see abuse).
Examples
“This talent to disabuse is in large part the obverse of Coward’s capacity for shrewd self-assessment.”
“Denver citizens made a trip to Washington in 1907, and reporters of the day noted that the city representatives had to "disabuse" the Washingtonians of their belief that wild Indians roamed the streets and the men all dressed in buckskins.”
“They kind of disabuse you of the notion of your greatness pretty quickly.”
“They kind of disabuse you of the notion of your greatness pretty quickly.”
“They kind of disabuse you of the notion of your greatness pretty quickly, "he told the mag.”
The Celebrity Blog , Celebrity gossip juicy celebrity rumors Hollywood gossip blog
“He wanted to disabuse people of the expectation that government would solve every problem.”
“The school's principal, assistant principal and other faculty members attempt to disabuse him of the fantasy that he's starring in a real-life version of "Stand and Deliver.”
The Washington Post: Tony Danza teaches English in real Philadelphia high school in A&E TV show
“I once went on a ride-along with a state trooper who was quick to disabuse me of the glamour in police work.”
“The Americans did not disabuse them of this notion; once the Taliban got wind of the U.S. death ray, units would often surrender.”
“It is time to disabuse ourselves of the idea that nuclear power can solve our problems.”
The Huffington Post: Michael Moynihan: Energy One Year Later
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘disabuse’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 414 more...
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March 2012
panache, evanescent, erogenous, vestibule, malfeasance, lacuna, blithering, incubate, breech, tabernacle, pearly, upholstery and 79 more...
Prolagus Is the failure to disabuse yourself of science any more dangerous than the failure to disabuse yourself of philosophy, or mathematics, or logic, or psychology, or theology?
(from: VVAA, The Interaction Between Science and Philosophy) Sep 22, 2008