derange
verbUK /dɪˈɹeɪnd͡ʒ/ · US /diˈɹeɪnd͡ʒ/
Etymology From French déranger, from Old French desrengier (“throw into disorder”), from des- + rengier (“to put into line”), from reng (“line, row”), from a Germanic source. See rank (noun).
1
To cause (someone) to go insane or become deranged.
Chiefly passive voice
2
To cause disorder in (something); to distort from its ideal state.
- Both these kinds of monopolies derange more or less the natural distribution of the stock of the society;1776, Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations:
3
To cause to malfunction or become inoperative.
- 4-16. All lighting was cut off by a close detonation but was partially restored after a short while. Many auxiliary motors were short-circuited or deranged. There were at least nineteen cracked jars in the forward battery and one in the after battery, causing loss of electrolyte and full grounds. All of the electric alarm and telephone circuits were out of commission.1949 January 1, Bureau of Ships, “U.S.S. PERCH (SS176), Loss in Action, Java Sea, 3 March 1942”, in Submarine Report: Depth Charge, Bomb, Mine, Torpedo and Gunfire Damage, Including Losses in Action, 7 December 1941 to 15 August 1945, volume 1, United States Hydrographic Office, archived from the original on 09 Dec 2022, page 21:
4
Archaic To disrupt (somebody's) plans, to inconvenience; to derail.
- "By no means, Sir," answered the Captain: "I shall be quite au désespoir if I derange any body."1782, Fanny Burney, Cecilia, Memoirs of an Heiress:
- A second special was out of the question, as the ordinary local service was already somewhat deranged by the first.1898, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost Special:
- Derived terms
- derangeable, derangement, deranger