dislike
Americanverb (used with object)
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dislikes,
present (3rd person singular)
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disliked,
past participle, past
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disliking
present participle
noun
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dislikes
plural
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
Dislike, disgust, distaste, repugnance imply antipathy toward something. Dislike is a general word, sometimes connoting an inherent or permanent feeling of antipathy for something: to have a dislike for crowds. Disgust connotes a feeling of loathing for what is offensive to the feelings and sensibilities: He felt disgust at seeing such ostentation. Distaste implies a more or less settled dislike: to have distaste for spicy foods, for hard work. Repugnance is a strong feeling of aversion for, and antagonism toward, something: to feel repugnance for (or toward ) low criminals.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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predislikenoun
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self-dislikenoun
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dislikableadjective
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dislikeableadjective
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self-dislikedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dislikesimple
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dislikessimple
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have dislikedperfect
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has dislikedperfect
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am dislikingprogressive
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are dislikingprogressive
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is dislikingprogressive
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have been dislikingperfect progressive
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has been dislikingperfect progressive
Past
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dislikedsimple
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had dislikedperfect
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was dislikingprogressive
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were dislikingprogressive
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had been dislikingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dislike
Explanation
Put simply, to dislike can be used as a transitive verb that means to "not like." Maybe you dislike spinach. But it can also be a noun, as in "You seem to have developed quite a dislike for spinach." English being a language of trial-and-error, the word dislike came about in the mid-16th Century, as modern English was still in its infancy. At that time, some words were tried and discarded, to be replaced with others that stuck. That was the case with dislike, which developed after the word "mislike" was dropped as the opposite of "like." Speaking of prefixes, don't confuse the word dislike with "unlike," which means that something is different from something else.
Vocabulary lists containing dislike
Power Prefix: dis-
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dis-
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: dis-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Firms generally dislike the messy, prolonged mechanics of exiting the investment, along with the risk of falling share prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
While many dislike loudcasting, do some people find it more acceptable than others to play their phone out loud in public depending on their background?
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
She expected to dislike the store—but that’s not exactly what happened.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Incumbency can also be a drag on a candidate if orphaned voters dislike their track record, even if their opponent is even further from those voters politically.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
It was precisely this sort of behavior that made him dislike Fudge’s visits so much.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Its findings suggest while widely known for his fame, "dislikes" of Musk have increased in recent years to eclipse his popularity.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
She said there are few foods she dislikes but she is especially fond of steak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Maybe he just really dislikes the entire program and wasn’t targeting Haitians in particular.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
The executive has complained, at times, that he dislikes running a public company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
In the first example, Basil dislikes shorts on the woman.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
He developed a surprising reputation as an interpreter of Rachmaninoff and other romantics disliked by modernists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
He denied intentionally dodging taxes or breaking the law, testifying that he disliked handling tax and other financial matters, so he relied on office managers and accountants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
"I was away from the war as such, and I disliked London, so going away into the country and being on a farm and handling animals appealed to me."
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
He reportedly disliked the constant and later referred to it as his "biggest blunder."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
Gertrude knew that her other ladies disliked these pious exercises.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
She was vague about her reasons for disliking Epstein.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 31, 2025
Some readers confessed to never having seen the film whose soundtrack they love; others even reported disliking it.
From New York Times ● May 26, 2024
Perhaps the baseball karma gods took a disliking to Kepler’s heads-up play because Seattle reeled off four runs in the top of the ninth inning as the Twins imploded.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
Despite apparently disliking one another, the pair have a son together, Neil "the Baby" Noel Edmond Smith.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2024
In disliking them, I was forced to recognize my own pretension, and that made me hate them even more.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
