Words / B2

dis-ORD-uh/dɪsˈɔːdə/

Disorder is a lack of order, or a medical condition: public disorder; a blood disorder. Chaos is informal for the first sense; disease is wider than the medical sense. Order is an opposite. Football: disorder outside the ground. Do not call untidy handwriting a disorder.

Meaning

A lack of order; also a medical or mental condition.

Examples

• “Public-order officers were called after disorder outside the ground.”
• “The clinic treats eating disorders, which is the medical sense — handle with care.”

Good to know

public disorder; a mental / genetic disorder. Opposite: order. Informal (chaos sense): chaos. Medical register is sensitive. News vs clinical essays — keep the sense clear.

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