Disarrays

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. To disrupt the orderly arrangement of items or elements
2. To throw into a state of confusion or disorder
3. A situation characterized by a lack of organization or the presence of chaos

Etymology: "Disarrays" is the plural form of "disarray," a noun meaning a state of disorder or a disruption of orderly arrangement. Because the plural is used with the same sense as the base noun, it refers to several instances or patches of such disorder at once. The base word traces back to Old French "desareer," which combined the prefix "des-" (meaning "undo" or "reverse," the same prefix found in words like "disable" and "dismount") with "areer," meaning "to array." That verb had its own roots in arranging troops or ranks in order, so "disarray" originally pointed to the undoing of that neat ordering. The word passed into Middle French as "desarroyer" and then into Middle English as "disareyen," a verb meaning to throw into disorder.

Synonyms: disorder, chaos, confusion

Antonyms: order, organization