Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To sever or interrupt the connection of or between.
  • intransitive verb Electricity To shut off the current in (an appliance) by removing its connection to a power source.
  • intransitive verb To sever or interrupt a connection.
  • noun A lack of connection; a disparity.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To sever or interrupt the connection of; break the connection of or between; disunite; disjoin: as, to disconnect a locomotive from a train; to disconnect church and state.
  • To disjoin the parts of; deprive of connection or coherence; separate into parts; dissociate: as, to disconnect an engine by detaching the connecting-rod.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To dissolve the union or connection of; to disunite; to sever; to separate; to disperse.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A break or interruption in an existing connection, continuum, or process; disconnection.
  • noun A switch used to isolate a portion of an electrical circuit.
  • noun A lack of connection or accord; a mismatch.
  • noun Scientology The deliberate severing of ties with family, friends, etc. considered antagonistic towards Scientology.
  • verb transitive To sever or interrupt a connection.
  • verb intransitive To become detached or withdrawn.
  • verb transitive To remove the connection between an appliance and an electrical power source.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb pull the plug of (electrical appliances) and render inoperable
  • verb make disconnected, disjoin or unfasten
  • noun an unbridgeable disparity (as from a failure of understanding)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

dis- +‎ connect

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Examples

Comments

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  • I particularly hate when this word is used as a noun: "..the disconnect between..."

    January 2, 2007

  • yes and it's frigging everywhere, from newspaper articles to idiot politicians.

    January 3, 2007

  • I disconnect the act

    I disconnect the dots

    I disconnect the me in me

    January 3, 2007