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Desencajada

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ROBINDESBOIS
February 04, 2016, 05:48 AM
How can I translate desencajada in the following context:
Cuando la ví esta mañana tenía la cara desencajada?

AngelicaDeAlquezar
February 04, 2016, 07:14 AM
She was clearly upset?

poli
February 04, 2016, 10:05 AM
You may want to clarify what it meant in the sentence, but the word looks like out of the box. So, would out of sorts/discombulated (meaning not her normal self)be a workable translation?

AngelicaDeAlquezar
February 04, 2016, 10:29 AM
"Desencajado(a)", when talking about someone's facial expression, normally means that they're very upset or distraught.

Your proposal "discombobulated" is a good choice for me.
And I think "overwrought" or "discomposed" might work too. :)

poli
February 04, 2016, 12:09 PM
OK, distraught is more common than overwrought. Usually overwrought is used in terms like overwrought with fear or grief. It's never positive and it requires a prepositional phrase to follow it. Overwrought with joy is something you never hear. Unlike overwrought, distraught doesn't need a prepositional phrase to clarify it. Overwrought is often used to describe something overdone like Florentine furnature is overwrought with gold leaf and decorations.

Discomposed is a word I had to look up. It fits the description, but you don't hear it much.

AngelicaDeAlquezar
February 04, 2016, 03:35 PM
I see. It's not a word I'm familiar with. I only took the definition from the dictionary, but didn't see any examples.
Thank you! :)

ROBINDESBOIS
March 17, 2016, 03:28 AM
So, she had her face out of the box?

poli
March 17, 2016, 07:05 AM
So, she had her face out of the box?

No, definitely not. I would say, she looked distraught or as Angelica wrote
clearly upset.

JPablo
March 17, 2016, 06:58 PM
I would say "she looked shaken".

"When I saw her this morning she looked shaken" even if we don't literally refer to her face.