Desynchronise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To throw something out of step or timing with what it was previously coordinated with ; to fall out of alignment so that events no longer occur together
2. To disrupt the coordinated timing of separate things so they no longer move or occur in step ; to lose the matching rhythm or timing that once linked them
3. To break the timing agreement between parts of a system so they stop operating together ; to drift apart in timing and no longer keep pace with one another

Etymology: "Desynchronise" is simply "synchronise" with the reversing prefix "de-" attached, so it means to undo the synchronisation of things that were previously in step. The base word "synchronise" comes from Greek "sunkhronos", combining "sun" ("together") and "khronos" ("time"), so it means "happening at the same time." Adding "de-" from Latin, meaning "down, away, or reversed," produces a sense of taking things out of time with one another. The prefix does most of the work here, and the pattern is productive: English speakers attach "de-" to many verbs to mean reversal or removal, such as "decentralise" or "deregulate." The result is a term suited to technical and everyday contexts alike, from clocks and machinery to people whose schedules have drifted apart.

Synonyms: decouple, misalign, offset

Antonyms: synchronise, synchronize, sync