# Is this even a word? I seem to see it a lot recently. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-even-a-word-i-seem-to-see-it-a-lot-recently/137862 "2002-11-21T03:12:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-even-a-word-i-seem-to-see-it-a-lot-recently/137862/1 "2002-11-21T03:12:20Z")
“Unorganized.” Shouldn’t that be “disorganized”? Or is there a subtle difference I’m missing concerning the prefixes? It sounds wrong to me, but I’ve encountered it in contexts where I would think the writer/speaker would know better. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-even-a-word-i-seem-to-see-it-a-lot-recently/137862/2 "2002-11-21T03:18:17Z")
I’ve only ever heard that used to mean that a work place didn’t have union coverage. An organised workshop is all union but an unorganised one is not. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-even-a-word-i-seem-to-see-it-a-lot-recently/137862/3 "2002-11-21T03:19:36Z")
_Merriam-Webster’s Third New International_ (my big blue unabridged daddy) has both as 100% legitimate adjectives. I won’t type out the definitions here, but the general (albeit weak)distinction seems to be that _unorganized_ = has never been organized, while _disorganized_ = was once organized, but has been thrown into disarray. This copyeditor has a vague feeling that _disorganized_ has more of a deliberate flavor, whereas _unorganized_ means no one’s gotten around to it yet. But in my regular reading I doubt it would blip on my radar. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-even-a-word-i-seem-to-see-it-a-lot-recently/137862/4 "2002-11-21T03:21:44Z")
My buddies over at [Merriam-Webster](http://www.britannica.com/) say Disorganized was once organized, but was disrupted, while Unorganized was never in one sock in the first place. Of course they say it better. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-even-a-word-i-seem-to-see-it-a-lot-recently/137862/5 "2002-11-21T03:53:44Z")
That was my vague feeling, too. I thought the prefixes had those connotations. I’ll have to listen to find out if the usage I hear is proper, then. It struck me that it wasn’t, which prompted the question in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-even-a-word-i-seem-to-see-it-a-lot-recently/137862/6 "2002-11-21T04:17:51Z")
Just to chime in with the OED’s take on it: “ **Unorganized** ,” meaning “Not formed into an orderly or regulated whole,” dates back to 1836 – though there was a different connotation of the word meaning “Not brought into an organic state” that was around about 150 years prior (and don’t even ask about “unorganizedness”). **Disorganized** , in the sense of “Deprived or destitute of organization; having lost, or being without, organic connexion or systematic arrangement; thrown into confusion, disordered,” predates its “un-” synonym by 24 years (1812). I’d always thought disorganized meant something being out of sorts, while unorganized meant it never was in the first place. But these entries lead me to think otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2002, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-even-a-word-i-seem-to-see-it-a-lot-recently/137862/7 "2002-11-21T12:23:45Z")
Well, on thinking of this, I came up with concrete examples, which always helps me define and remember things. **Disorganized** is what you call it when you open a new deck of cards and spray them all over the room. **Unorganized** is what you call a coffee can full of random nuts and bolts you’ve collected over the past 25 years. Works for me.