displease
Americanverb (used with object)
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displeases,
present (3rd person singular)
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displeased,
past participle, past
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displeasing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
displeases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
displeased,
past participle, past
-
displeasing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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displeasesimple
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displeasessimple
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have displeasedperfect
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has displeasedperfect
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am displeasingprogressive
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are displeasingprogressive
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is displeasingprogressive
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have been displeasingperfect progressive
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has been displeasingperfect progressive
Past
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displeasedsimple
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had displeasedperfect
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was displeasingprogressive
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were displeasingprogressive
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had been displeasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of displease
1300–50; Middle English desplesen < Anglo-French, Middle French desplaisir. See dis- 1, please
Explanation
When you displease someone, you disappoint them or make them unhappy. Your dog's loud barking at 5 AM is sure to displease your neighbors. The prefix dis- is often used to signify the opposite of something, and displease is no exception: it means to do the opposite of pleasing someone. Your terrible grades will displease your parents and your teachers, not to mention you, and being served your least favorite foods at your birthday dinner will also displease you. Please has a Latin root, placere, "be acceptable, be liked, or be approved."
Vocabulary lists containing displease
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:
The capacity of policymakers to make decisions that might displease the government is under increasing threat, the head of the European Central Bank said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
But a spokesman did point out that it does not exist to satisfy the F1 teams, and that every decision it makes in the sport is likely to displease someone.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2021
Independent filmmakers, she said, are “not going to compromise and will show the truth” – and hence displease the Taliban.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2021
His solution, which will displease purists, and plenty of impurists as well, was to do away with the dialogue altogether and put the music through a high-speed chipper.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2021
The way Julian had done the inviting, I didn't know who else was coming—although I strongly suspected that Nadia Diamondstein would be, and that thought did not displease me.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
"We showed it with Gabriella, we showed it again with Laurence. But it displeases some people, obviously. It's competition, it's natural. But it's true that it was more complicated than we thought."
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
The rest of NIH’s 27 institutes and centers would stay at current budget levels, a status quo that displeases advocates for biomedical research.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 9, 2023
“But traditionally with royals throughout history, if anyone displeases them, they are out. As Prince Philip always, always said: ‘It’s not about the individual.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
“We’re living in a society where it’s hard to be an individual. We have to always represent the universal citizen … someone who displeases nobody,” he said.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 8, 2019
“Your tone displeases me! The girl and her friends were foolhardy in the extreme. Thieving from the headmaster!”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
The U.A.E. was displeased with the Israeli announcement and saw it as embarrassing, according to a person close to Emirati officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
So I’d like each of them to name an issue where, for the good of the state, they’re willing to take on their friends and allies, knowing they’ll be displeased.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
Microsoft Azure’s 39% cloud growth in the fourth quarter paled in comparison to Google Cloud’s 48% growth, and investors were displeased by Microsoft’s decision to allocate more computing power to internal projects.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026
Talents like Morgan Wallen, Diplo, Shaboozey and Post Malone have made chart-topping hits that have both expanded the fanbase of the genre, and, at times, left traditional country fans displeased with the drastically different tone.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
To some there Bilbo’s tale was wholly new, and they listened with amazement while the old hobbit, actually not at all displeased, recounted his adventure with Gollum, at full length.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Boasberg would later rule that prosecutors had “offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the president.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
District Court for the District of Columbia agreed; he quashed the subpoenas and said the government had offered no evidence that Powell committed any crime “other than displeasing the president.”
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
"My wife sends her regards, thank you for the pudding rice. She sends your fiancé this sweater and hopes that it is not displeasing to her," it reads.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2024
Having a well-stocked refrigerator filled with rotting foods is incredibly wasteful and displeasing, to say the least.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024
“Yes, I denied knowing him. I was afraid”— again I choose my words carefully—“of displeasing El Jefe.”
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
