dislocate
verb
dis·lo·cate ˈdis-lō-ˌkāt 
-lə-;
(ˌ)dis-ˈlō- dislocated; dislocating; dislocates
transitive verb
1
: to put out of place
specifically : to displace (a bone) from normal connections with another bone
2
: to force a change in the usual status, relationship, or order of : disrupt
Synonyms
- budge
- displace
- disturb
- move
- relocate
- remove
- reposition
- shift
- transfer
- transpose
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
She fell and dislocated her shoulder. The new hotel will dislocate several businesses. Thousands of workers have been dislocated by the latest economic crisis.
Recent Examples on the Web Chris Sale appeared to dislocate his pinky finger when a comebacker hit his left hand. 
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2022 Several scuffles ensued, which led Rosenbaum to dislocate his shoulder. Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Nov. 2021 Consider the game red rover, where one kid was invited/pressured to run into a chain of arms and inevitably dislocate a shoulder, bloody a nose or sprain a wrist. Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2021 Much like the grocery store at night where in drag, the lights of we dislocate. Francine J. Harris, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 Much like the grocery store at night where in drag, the lights of we dislocate. Francine J. Harris, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 Much like the grocery store at night where in drag, the lights of we dislocate. Francine J. Harris, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 Some care may require specialized medical care, such as reconstructive surgery to mitigate or repair the damage from torture: broken bones, teeth knocked out, or being hung from a ceiling where arms dislocate from the shoulder. Star Tribune, 2 July 2021 Both will drive up costs and dislocate existing supply chains. Vasuki Shastry, Forbes, 8 June 2021 See More
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2022 Several scuffles ensued, which led Rosenbaum to dislocate his shoulder. Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Nov. 2021 Consider the game red rover, where one kid was invited/pressured to run into a chain of arms and inevitably dislocate a shoulder, bloody a nose or sprain a wrist. Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2021 Much like the grocery store at night where in drag, the lights of we dislocate. Francine J. Harris, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 Much like the grocery store at night where in drag, the lights of we dislocate. Francine J. Harris, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 Much like the grocery store at night where in drag, the lights of we dislocate. Francine J. Harris, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 Some care may require specialized medical care, such as reconstructive surgery to mitigate or repair the damage from torture: broken bones, teeth knocked out, or being hung from a ceiling where arms dislocate from the shoulder. Star Tribune, 2 July 2021 Both will drive up costs and dislocate existing supply chains. Vasuki Shastry, Forbes, 8 June 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Medieval Latin dislocatus, past participle of dislocare, from Latin dis- + locare to locate
First Known Use
1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
dislocate
verb
dis·lo·cate ˈdis-lō-ˌkāt
dis-ˈlō-
dislocated; dislocating
: to displace a bone from its normal connections with another bone
Medical Definition
dislocate
transitive verb
dis·lo·cate ˈdis-lō-ˌkāt -lə-; (ˈ)dis-ˈlō-ˌkāt
-lə-; (ˈ)dis-ˈlō-ˌkāt dislocated; dislocating
: to put (a body part) out of order by displacing a bone from its normal connections with another bone
he dislocated his shoulder
also : to displace (a bone) from normal connections with another bone
the humerus was dislocated in the fall
dislocating
verb
1
as in shifting
to change the place or position of dislocated his shoulder in the accident Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- shifting
- relocating
- removing
- moving
- transferring
- disturbing
- transporting
- displacing
- repositioning
- transposing
- replacing
- hauling
- carrying
- conveying
- transmitting
- altering
- driving
- transplanting
- supplanting
- modifying
- superseding
- reworking
- budging
- lugging
- toting
- varying
- revising
- carting
- remaking
- bearing
- remodeling
- refashioning
- redoing
- revamping
- making over
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- stabilizing
- securing
- freezing
- anchoring
- fixing
- setting
- mooring
- implanting
- imbedding
- embedding
- entrenching
- rooting
- intrenching
- lodging
- ingraining
- engraining
2
as in disrupting
to undo the proper order or arrangement of the country's entire social structure was dislocated by the war Synonyms & Similar Words
- disrupting
- shuffling
- disturbing
- confusing
- upsetting
- disorganizing
- deranging
- disjointing
- disordering
- jumbling
- disarranging
- muddling
- mussing
- scrambling
- tumbling
- tousling
- discomposing
- snarling
- tangling
- unsettling
- rumpling
- disarraying
- perturbing
- hashing
- dishevelling
- disheveling
- entangling
- embroiling
- cluttering
- agitating
- mixing (up)
- messing (up)
- stirring (up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- disposing
- regulating
- arranging
- organizing
- aligning
- ordering
- ranging
- adjusting
- alining
- lining
- arraying
- tidying
- classifying
- marshalling
- marshaling
- straightening (up)
- queueing
- fixing
- codifying
- systematizing
- drawing up
- lining up
- queuing
- making up
- methodizing
- grooming
- systemizing
- sprucing (up)
- unscrambling