disaffected

1 of 2

adjective

dis·​af·​fect·​ed ˌdis-ə-ˈfek-təd 

: discontented and resentful especially against authority : rebellious

disaffected youth

disaffected

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of disaffect

Examples of disaffected in a Sentence

Adjective

The troops had become disaffected.

Both political parties are looking for ways to regain the trust of disaffected voters.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Europe rolls out the welcome mat Europe’s governments and institutions are eager to court America’s disaffected researchers. — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026

In the play’s first act, men show up at a dive bar in Kingston, New York, order a Bud Light, and hand over an envelope to the disaffected man behind the counter named Joey (played by Bubba Weiler) before heading to a back room. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026

Jack Huston stars as university professor John Jorissen, a Spinoza academic who teaches a philosophy intro course to disaffected coeds at the fictional Ridgemont College in Missouri. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026

Each presents a group portrait of a handful of disaffected British suburbanites—husbands who resent their deadening jobs, toddlers who whine and interrupt, and, above all, hassled wives subsumed by a crush of household obligations. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1602, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disaffected

• disconnected
• disinfected
• interjected
• intersected
• misdirected
• preselected
• recollected
• reconnected
• redirected
• reelected
• resurrected
• unaffected