disadvantage
Americannoun
-
disadvantages
plural
-
absence or deprivation of advantage or equality.
- Synonyms:
- hindrance, inconvenience, drawback
-
the state or an instance of being in an unfavorable circumstance or condition.
to be at a disadvantage.
-
something that puts one in an unfavorable position or condition.
His bad temper is a disadvantage.
-
injury to interest, reputation, credit, profit, etc.; loss.
Your behavior is a disadvantage to your family's good name.
verb (used with object)
-
disadvantages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disadvantaged,
past participle, past
-
disadvantaging
present participle
noun
-
an unfavourable circumstance, state of affairs, thing, person, etc
-
injury, loss, or detriment
-
an unfavourable condition or situation (esp in the phrase at a disadvantage )
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
disadvantagesimple
-
disadvantagessimple
-
have disadvantagedperfect
-
has disadvantagedperfect
-
am disadvantagingprogressive
-
are disadvantagingprogressive
-
is disadvantagingprogressive
-
have been disadvantagingperfect progressive
-
has been disadvantagingperfect progressive
Past
-
disadvantagedsimple
-
had disadvantagedperfect
-
was disadvantagingprogressive
-
were disadvantagingprogressive
-
had been disadvantagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disadvantage
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English disavauntage, from Anglo-French; Old French desavantage; equivalent to dis- 1 + advantage
Explanation
A piece of bad luck or a less favorable position is a disadvantage. If you are trying to run a fifty-yard dash in flip flops when everyone else has on running shoes, you'll be at a disadvantage. It's harder to be successful when you start with a disadvantage. One kind of disadvantage is being born into a poor family — it's a struggle for a child in poverty to do well in school, attend college, or end up with a well-paying job. A disadvantage is the opposite of an advantage, a lucky or favorable circumstance. At the root of both words is the Old French avant, "at the front."
Vocabulary lists containing disadvantage
STAAR Grade 6 Reading: Informational Text
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Lesson 1
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Week 5: New Technology
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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:
Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the regional gaps were driven by "persistent long-term disadvantage".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The station groups say the ability of tech companies such as Google and Netflix to reach every consumer in the U.S. puts them at a disadvantage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The tribunal found that requiring her to work a fully flexible seven-day rota placed her at a particular disadvantage because of her childcare responsibilities.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
But in a world where online retailers are open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, brick-and-mortar merchants can find themselves at a distinct disadvantage if they aren’t able to sell on Sundays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The second is that societies lacking the invention find themselves at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the inventing society, and they become overwhelmed and replaced if the disadvantage is sufficiently great.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Rather than carefully comparing the advantages and disadvantages of every available option, people may rely on memories of what they chose previously.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
Even with Europe’s disadvantages, experts said the region still has a solid foundation in biopharma and other industries such as engineering.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
It said the school leaned on how applicants answered “hardship” questions — which ask students how they overcame disadvantages — as a proxy for race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Among a host of grievances, including anticorruption enforcement and barriers to U.S. ethanol imports, Washington argues that PIX has become so ubiquitous in Brazil it unfairly disadvantages U.S. payment companies such as Visa and Mastercard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Apart from his dislike of the whole idea, there were disadvantages that might be fatal.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
In Gamper's view, women should not be financially disadvantaged because of their anatomy or because they need cubicles for safety reasons, for example.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
A spokesperson for the DfE said a new PE Partnership Network would help close the gap seen by disadvantaged children.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
When at the age of 37 he was appointed as a professor at the University of Cambridge, the prestigious institution said that he would help “address the underrepresentation of people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Word of the impending changes are raising anxiety for California advocates, providers and families who rely on the early education program and are concerned about future access to disadvantaged children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
That day, I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
A unit of SpaceX is suing Apple for disadvantaging its AI app, and the company is now prototyping its own smartphone-like AI device.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
He also argued that ranking applicants by SAT scores ends up disadvantaging high-achieving low-income, first-generation and underrepresented minorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Greer accused Brazil of disadvantaging American exports by offering lower tariffs to other trade partners.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2025
A Stellantis spokeswoman noted that the company has said it wants an agreement “that fairly rewards our workforce for their contribution to our success, without significantly disadvantaging Stellantis against our nonunion competitors.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 5, 2023
"The Government's aerospace strategy will make sure that regulations remain fit for purpose, and advanced aviation technology is integrated into transport networks without disadvantaging those who use the airspace."
From Reuters ● Sep. 5, 2022
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.
