An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched; and already had mrs. bennet planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all. mr. bingley was obliged to be in town the following day, and, consequently, unable to accept the honour of their invitation, etc. mrs. bennet was quite disconcerted.
which is the best definition for the word disconcerted as it is used in this sentence?

The best definition for the word "disconcerted" can be "confused, unsettling, perturbed".

Explanation:

In Jane Austen's classical romance novel "Pride and Prejudice", the themes of love, property, social standing and the need to get their daughters married off to a wealthy gentleman of good standing are all dealt with. Especially in regards to Darcy and Elizabeth, the main protagonists, they came to fully understand each other from the awful discrimination they had against one another.

The given passage is from Chapter 3 of the text when we first hear of Mr. Bingley coming to Netherfield Park. He had just been visited by Mr. Bennett and in return had promised to come for dinner which excited Mrs. Bennett extremely. She had already planned out the whole course of the dinner "that were to do credit to her housekeeping", but had to be cancelled when their guest sent word that he'll be travelling out of town. This left her distraught, and confused as to why their new neighbor may have to travel so soon after moving in.

The word "disconcerted" reveals/ shows she finds it hard to understand Mr. Bingley's need to travel so soon and even begin "to fear that he might be always flying about from one place to another, and never settled at Netherfield as he ought to be". She had wanted so much to be introduced to this "young man of large fortune from the north of England" in the hope that he will like one of her daughters. But now that he's sent a letter to be excused from the dinner plan, she began to have other thoughts.

expository writing is one of the most common types of writing.