disinterested/uninterested and disorganised/unorganised

[thisisyesterday]

Talk to me people! Is there a difference?

Uninterested means you're not interested - for example in what someone is telling you. But disinterested means you don't have a stake in something - so a "disinterested party" is someone who is neutral because they're not going to gain or lose from the decision.

I'm not so sure about the difference between unorganised and disorganised though. But I think it may be that unorganised things have just never been put into an order - maybe because there's no order to put them into. But disorganised things ought to be organised?

ahh ok, i didn't realise there was such a big distinction between dis/un interested.

unorganised iimplies 'hasn't yet been organised'

disorganised implies things that were once organised but no longer are

A rule of thumb un- is an opposite whereas dis- is a lack of.

i would use dis for both

but you would be wrong, HugeBaubles

read AMumInScotland's post

uninterested actually means something different to disinterested.

OMG english is so complicated no wonder we get it wrong so often..

I don't think i ever really use Un interested and Un organised

Oh thank you AMuminScotland! That's such a clear explanation. I have always wondered about this.

My DH sometimes says 'disinterested' when he means 'uninterested' and it bugs me.

Jane Austen uses 'disinterested' quite a lot in phrases like 'pure disinterested love' - meaning that they weren't interested in the other person's fortune. 'Uninterested' clearly has a quite different meaning.

I too like DadInsteadofMum's rule of thumb .. simplifies the complicated.

oh thanks for that! Well you learn a new thing everyday