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desorden
/de.soɾˈðen/
mess
La habitación está llena de desorden.
The room is full of mess.
neutral
A state of untidiness or lack of organization.
Después de la fiesta, había mucho desorden en la cocina.
After the party, there was a lot of mess in the kitchen.
Su escritorio siempre está en desorden.
His desk is always in a mess.
Can refer to physical clutter or metaphorical disorder (e.g., social chaos).
Law
formal
Violation of rules or norms, often in a social or political context.
El desorden público es un delito en muchos países.
Public disorder is a crime in many countries.
Used in legal contexts to describe disturbances or chaos.
informal
A noisy or violent disturbance, especially in a crowd.
Hubo un desorden en el concierto y la policía intervino.
There was a disturbance at the concert and the police intervened.
Often implies chaos or conflict.
Collocations
Antonyms
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Collocation Mastery
Pair 'desorden' with 'poner en' to describe making something messy (e.g., 'Pusiste todo en desorden').
Gold Rule
Context Matters
Use 'desorden' for physical mess (e.g., 'la casa está en desorden') and 'caos' for abstract disorder (e.g., 'caos político').
Word Origin
From Latin *dis-* (prefix meaning 'apart, away') + *ordo* ('order'), via Old Spanish 'desorden'.
Usage Notes
Common in both everyday and formal contexts. In Latin America, 'desorden' often implies physical mess, while in Spain it can also refer to social or political chaos.
Word Breakdown
des-
prefix indicating negation or reversal
prefixorden
order
rootDiccionario Español-Inglés