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
-
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:
That would certainly displease, even enrage, Mr. Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
This change may displease some, but for those being vigilant about their health and would like more transparency about the food they are eating, it's a welcome change.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2023
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
My absences were beginning to displease Gertrude and she grew testy with me.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
"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
‘If what I have done displeases you, my father,’ said Faramir quietly, ‘I wish I had known your counsel before the burden of so weighty a judgement was thrust on me.’
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Harpootlian heard rumblings that some of the jurors were displeased with Hill’s conduct and began to scour the back roads of Colleton County to track them down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 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
Investors have been displeased with the iPhone maker’s slow progress in the AI space and its lackluster Apple Intelligence offering.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
But online reviews left by an overwhelming number of displeased customers say otherwise.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2025
He glanced at the House, and his gray eyes were displeased and vexed.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
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
“So you thought you might be displeasing El Jefe by admitting to a friendship with Virgilio Morales?”
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.
