What does disoriented mean?

To be "oriented" in medical language is to know who you are, where you are, and what day, date, and time it is currently. To be "disoriented" means that one or all of these cognitive areas are impaired. For example, a crash victim may awaken 3 days after the crash and be disoriented about the day and date. However, the patient becomes re-oriented after being told the current day and date. If the patient was still confused or insisted it was a different date, the person would still be disoriented. In medicine and nursing, being "disoriented" means the patient has a cognitive impairment that may be temporary or permanent or even intermittent (comes and goes).

"Disoriented" can also be used in non-medical circumstances. Then, it is not an evaluation of cognitive impairment, but more a term used to describe "temporary confusion". For example, "Finding her way through the heavy traffic on major highways left Sally feeling disoriented. She arrived at her destination three hours late."