Disorientation is the confused feeling of not knowing where you are, which direction you're facing, or what's happening around you. When you wake up in an unfamiliar hotel room in the dark, that foggy moment before you remember where you are is disorientation. When you exit a subway station in a new city and can't tell which way is north, you're experiencing the same thing.

The word combines “orientation” (knowing your position and direction) with the prefix “dis” (meaning “not” or “opposite of”). To be disoriented means to lose that sense of position and direction.

Disorientation can happen in different ways. Physical disorientation occurs when you spin around blindfolded or when a gymnast tumbles so many times that they momentarily lose track of up and down. Mental disorientation happens when you're overwhelmed by too much confusing information at once, like starting at a new school where everything from the building layout to the daily schedule feels unfamiliar.

Astronauts experience severe disorientation in space because there's no up or down, which is why they train extensively for it. Divers can become dangerously disoriented underwater when they can't tell which direction leads to the surface, so they use training and tools to stay safe.