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:
"And for his opponents, it is a further reason to dislike him."
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
She expected to dislike the store—but that’s not exactly what happened.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
An undercurrent of friction brought an edge to the breezy vibe, with Edwards often acting as the awkward buffer between Lucey and Barberie, who did little to disguise their dislike of each other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is helping represent Prabhakar, argues that public colleges may establish curriculum requirements but cannot punish professors merely because administrators dislike ideas expressed in relevant course material.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
That fact relieved the dislike that his pride had caused in her.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
James Piper, co-host of the Talking Rubbish podcast, co-owner of Ecosurety, said he dislikes BuzzBallz because of how difficult they are to recycle.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Maybe he just really dislikes the entire program and wasn’t targeting Haitians in particular.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
But the machinery he dislikes was built in 1999, when the Fed first began signaling a hike before it moved because it didn’t want to catch markets off guard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Mina, who longs for “glamour, and comfort, and money,” dislikes the idea of marriage but concedes that “if these blessings must come via a man, so be it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
He picks his friends based on whether he likes or dislikes the colors of their names.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
He developed a surprising reputation as an interpreter of Rachmaninoff and other romantics disliked by modernists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
“I still don’t understand why they disliked it so much.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
He reportedly disliked the constant and later referred to it as his "biggest blunder."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
Juan Mata, a World Cup winner with Spain in 2010, said he would have disliked a three-minute break in each half when he was playing.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Two Polish Annas raised their hands, and the teacher instructed them to present themselves by stating their names, nationalities, occupations, and a brief list of things they liked and disliked in this world.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
When the bubble is big enough, it shifts the behavior of the market as a whole from disliking capital expenditure, and hating speculative capital spending in particular, to loving it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 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
He told the court he had "political views" about Mr Trump's time in office, liking some of his policies and disliking others.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2024
Rice in America has gotten a bad reputation, Johnson says, with some nutritionists disliking its starchiness and tendency to cause spikes in blood sugar.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 25, 2023
She explained in a steely tone that she had wanted to remain anonymous, disliking publicity after the circumstances of her husband’s death.
From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett
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.
