disagree
Americanverb (used without object)
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disagrees,
present (3rd person singular)
-
disagreed,
past participle, past
-
disagreeing
present participle
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to fail to agree; differ.
The conclusions disagree with the facts. The theories disagree in their basic premises.
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to differ in opinion; dissent.
Three of the judges disagreed with the verdict.
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to quarrel.
They disagreed violently and parted company.
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to cause physical discomfort or ill effect (usually followed bywith ).
The oysters disagreed with her. Cold weather disagrees with me.
verb
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to dissent in opinion (from another person) or dispute (about an idea, fact, etc)
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to fail to correspond; conflict
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to be unacceptable (to) or unfavourable (for); be incompatible (with)
curry disagrees with me
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to be opposed (to) in principle
Usage
What is a basic definition of disagree? Disagree means to not agree or to differ. Disagree can also mean to have different opinions or to cause physical discomfort. If two things disagree, they don’t match and most likely clash with each other. For example, the belief that pigs are able to fly disagrees with all scientific knowledge of pigs. The noun form of disagree is disagreement.
- Real-life examples: Countries often have plans that disagree with other countries’ plans. Scientists and historians often make discoveries that disagree with earlier information.
- Used in a sentence: When you measure a board twice and the measurements disagree, you should measure the board again.
- Real-life examples: People often angrily disagree with each other on social media. Political parties often disagree on many social issues. You may disagree with your friends on what the best flavor of ice cream is.
- Used in a sentence: My brother thinks green is the best color, but I disagree and think blue is the best.
- Real-life examples: If you have lactose intolerance, milk will disagree with you and will cause stomach aches and other problems if you drink it. Rotten food will probably disagree with you and cause food poisoning or vomiting.
- Used in a sentence: I try to stay inside in the winter because cold weather really disagrees with me.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disagreesimple
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disagreessimple
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have disagreedperfect
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has disagreedperfect
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am disagreeingprogressive
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are disagreeingprogressive
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is disagreeingprogressive
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have been disagreeingperfect progressive
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has been disagreeingperfect progressive
Past
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disagreedsimple
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had disagreedperfect
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was disagreeingprogressive
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were disagreeingprogressive
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had been disagreeingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of disagree
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Anglo-French, Middle French desagreer; equivalent to dis- 1 + agree
Explanation
When two people disagree, they have completely different opinions about something. You might disagree with your sister about whether chocolate or vanilla ice cream is the most delicious. Use the verb disagree to talk about what happens when you have a conflict or a difference of thought about something with another person. People disagree about politics, food, sports, and movies — there is no subject that won't cause most people to find a way to disagree. The word comes from combining the Old French agreer, "to receive with favor or take pleasure in" with the Latin prefix dis, which here means "do the opposite of."
Vocabulary lists containing disagree
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 4
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 3
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The New SAT: The Language of the Test
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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:
The UK joined Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands in saying they "regret and strongly disagree with" the sanctions.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Mockler: Does Hasan have comments in 2019 that I disagree with?
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
Even people who vehemently disagree with the points made in the essay should feel a bit uneasy about the Cornell community’s response.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"If he would disagree with ...the direction of the company, he would say it," Diamos says.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Spiders who spin webs, wispy as clouds, which I think are pretty, though the grown-ups disagree.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
However, Sarah Ockwell-Smith, who is widely credited with coining and popularising the term 'gentle parenting', strongly disagrees.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
“Optimum strongly disagrees with the co-op group’s allegations and believes their claims are without merit,” a company representative said Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Krasner said he “respectfully and vigorously” disagrees with the findings in the opinion, which also disqualified him from further involvement in the exoneration case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
“State Farm General strongly disagrees with Los Angeles County’s characterization of our wildfire claims response,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Apart from a few angry murmurs in the back of the room, no one disagrees.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
For homeowners, affordability can be the flexibility to generate income from their property — a topic on which Bass and Raman have disagreed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
If primordial magnetic fields altered it in a way that disagreed with observations, the idea could be ruled out.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
Nancy Vanden Houten at Oxford Economics disagreed, expecting upside risks to inflation to continue to dominate Fed policymakers' thinking and to see them raise rates again.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
However, others disagreed, with one pointing out the two acts have a "huge fanbase overlap" and describing Manson as a "perfect support act".
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
I couldn’t speak for all Muslim women—no one could—but it was a sentiment with which I fundamentally disagreed.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
He addressed his sacking, disagreeing with his critics who declared him too "old school" to command Ukraine's new, technologically advanced forces.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
“We may not even come to terms on agreeing or disagreeing, but we’ve got that space.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
“My answer was along the lines of, ‘I’ve been disagreeing with my mother my entire life.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Obviously, someone disagreeing with you isn’t workplace mistreatment or abuse.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
He met the reverend on equal terms, disagreeing with him where others simply assented.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
