disorder

Everyday

1. An untidy state where things are not in order; a mess. tree →
2. (formal) Trouble or fighting among a group of people in public: «public disorder». tree →
3. An illness or condition of the body or mind that stops it working normally: «a sleep disorder», «an eating disorder». tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life a room «in disorder» is messy. In news, police deal with «public disorder». In health lessons a disorder is a medical condition, and people with disorders deserve kindness and proper help. Phrases: «in disorder», «public disorder», «civil disorder», «a sleep disorder», «a disorder of».

Examples

• The classroom was in complete disorder after the party. tree →
• Police arrived to stop the disorder in the street. tree →
• Asthma is a disorder of the lungs. tree →
• She has a sleep disorder and often wakes at night. tree →
• His papers were scattered in disorder on the desk. tree →
• Some disorders can be treated with medicine and therapy. tree →
• And the nearer he came the more blood and disorder he found about the rooms. tree →

Note

Uncountable for mess and public trouble; countable for illnesses («disorders»). Adjective: «disorderly» (badly behaved or messy). Opposite: «order». Do not use the names of disorders as jokes or insults.