recombobulate

recombobulate

English

Verb

recombobulate (third-person singular simple present recombobulates, present participle recombobulating, simple past and past participle recombobulated)

1. (transitive, uncommon) To cause to think clearly again; to reorient; to put back into working order.
   • 1992, Natty Bumppo Lonely Hearts

     Please allow me to recombobulate you. Your portrait “Oneside of Natty” frightens me as much as Amy’s sketch.

   • 2002 April 14, Jeff Westbrook, “The 30% Iron Chef”, Futurama, season 3, episode 22, Fox Broadcasting Company

     Zoidberg: Aw, I’ll never recombobulate this ship!

   • 2011, Nicole Peeler, Eye of the Tempest: Jane True Series: Book Four, unnumbered page,

     I was watching the little birdies fly in front of my eyes, so it took me a second to re-combobulate myself.

2. (intransitive) To (come to) think clearly again; to reorient oneself; to get (oneself) back into working order.
   • 2005, Stephin Merritt, The Paris Review Book of People with Problems

     You need a little time to recombobulate is all.

   • 2010 September 13, "Rumpelstiltskin" (username), Bashing Bush and Boehner Won’t Work, in soc.retirement, Usenet:

     Luckily I was in the car when I drove in, so I had time to recombobulate before I got out, and didn't make any comment about the bible verses.

   • 2011, Dena Mendes, A Survivor's Guide to Kicking Cancer's Ass, page 99:

     Before I talk about specific tips to recombobulate, I want to emphasize something: We are so much more than doctors tell us we are.

Quotations

• For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:recombobulate.

Synonyms

• combobulate

Antonyms

• discombobulate

Related terms

• recombobulation