Unarrange

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To undo the organization of something so that its parts are no longer set in their previous order or pattern
2. To take apart a set arrangement and leave the items scattered or disordered rather than placed as planned
3. Restoring things to a state without the order they once held, by reversing or dismantling how they were set out

Etymology: Unarrange is a transparent English formation: the reversing prefix un- attached to arrange, meaning to undo an arrangement. Arrange entered English from Old French "arangier," meaning to put things in a row, built from the prefix a- and "rang," a rank or line. That "rang" comes from a Germanic root shared with English ring, so the word's core idea is things placed in order. English freely attaches un- to verbs to reverse their action, and unarrange follows that pattern, its meaning coming straight from its two parts.

Synonyms: disarrange, disorder, derange

Antonyms: arrange, organize