disarm

verb

dis·​arm dis-ˈärm 

diz-,

ˈdis-ˌärm

disarmed; disarming; disarms

transitive verb

1

a

: to deprive of means, reason, or disposition to be hostile

disarmed criticism by admitting her errors

b

: to win over

2

a

: to divest of arms

disarm captured troops

b

: to deprive of a means of attack or defense

disarm a ship

c

: to make harmless

disarm a bomb

intransitive verb

1

: to lay aside arms

2

: to give up or reduce armed forces

disarmament

ˌdis-ˈär-mə-mənt 

noun

disarmer noun

Synonyms

• demilitarize

Examples of disarm in a Sentence

The government has been unsuccessful at disarming the rebels.

The terrorists have refused to disarm.

It took more than an hour to disarm the bomb.

Recent Examples on the Web

The regiment was tasked with intercepting, disarming and escorting the Miniconjou, a subdivision of the Lakota, along Wounded Knee Creek on December 28. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Dec. 2024

But many are refusing to disarm without some sort of guarantees that they will be protected from attacks. —Raja Abdulrahim, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024

That space the evil one abstracted stood From his own evil, and for the time remained Stupidly good, of enmity disarmed. —Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024

But its rivals are working to diminish its influence and disarm the only Lebanese militia that still has weapons 34 years after the end of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war from 1975 to 1990. —Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English desarmen, literally, to divest of arms, from Anglo-French desarmer, from des- dis- + armer to arm

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

disarm

verb

dis·​arm (ˈ)dis-ˈärm 

1

: to take weapons from

disarm a prisoner

2

: to reduce the size and strength of the armed forces of a country

3

: to make harmless, peaceable, or friendly : remove dislike or suspicion

a disarming smile

disarmament

-ˈär-mə-mənt 

noun