Discomposed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Feeling unsettled or disturbed emotionally or mentally
2. Experiencing a loss of calmness and becoming uneasy or shaken
3. Being perturbed or thrown off balance in thoughts or emotions

Etymology: "Discomposed" is the past form of "discompose," which is built from the prefix "dis-" added to "compose." The prefix comes from Latin, where "dis-" carried the sense of apart or asunder, and it reached English through Old French and Middle English. "Compose" in turn descends from Latin "componere," meaning to put together, so the verb's literal sense is to pull the parts of something back apart. That is why the word still carries the idea of something once arranged that has come loose. Over time, the verb moved from a physical notion of disordering things to a mental one: to discompose a person is to disturb their calm, their settled manner. The adjective "discomposed" therefore describes someone whose composure has been shaken, the same image of order coming undone, now applied to the mind rather than to objects.

Synonyms: disturbed, unsettled, agitated, discomfited, perturbed

Antonyms: calm, composed, settled, unperturbed, equable