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)
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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:
In this case—and however much it may displease conspiracy theorists—there is no mystery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 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
“One he can hang if the friend’s father should displease him?” asked Lord Tytos.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
"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
The inevitable penalty appeal eventuates, which displeases Keogh immensely.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 11, 2015
Then he says something to my daughter that really displeases her: “It’s uncanny how much you two look alike!”
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
And unlike Jobs, who famously flew into fits of rage when displeased, Cook maintains a much more approachable personality.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
As for this year’s slate, the range was typically broad, and the choices seem to have left no one displeased, with a number of festivalgoers insisting the programming was the most satisfying they could recall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 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
Long-term Xbox fans were also displeased when it announced it would begin to publish formerly exclusive titles on other consoles.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
“Why did you go and do that?” demanded the fox, most displeased.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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
He wrote about her in his postcards home, displeasing his moralistic parents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 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.
