Disorganised or unorganised?

It is unusual for a word to be used with two different prefixes. Often people use the word unorganised when they really mean disorganised and it can be very obvious to others.

Unorganised relates to structure or a system. The data was unorganised. The staff were unorganised as they had not formed a union. Disorganised relates more to the current state, The person was disorganised.

To confuse things further, both words could be used in the same sentence. The person’s desk was disorganised. The person’s desk was unorganised. The use of disorganised implies the desk may have once been organised. The use of unorganised implies the desk had not been organised. We’ve all been there. Tight deadlines, lots of work, can result in a disorganised desk. A new job with a new desk, that is unorganised. Although keep in mind, sometimes using different words may be better for the reader. A new job with a new desk, that has not been organised.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

NOTE: The above article was written for and published in the Credit Matters newsletter.