dislike
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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:
Above them all is Bill Nighy’s controlling Director, whom you are free to dislike even though it’s Bill Nighy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
This was not the first game where boos have been at the hydration break, and the wave of dislike for them among fans appears to be gathering momentum.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
Investors in acquirers tend to dislike deals that involve issuing new stock, as increasing the shares outstanding reduces the percentage of the company owned by current shareholders.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
Wall Street loves an ugly portmanteau, or jamming together of two words in a way that sows confusion, followed closely by dislike.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
In addition to the baseball and sprinkler incidents, Oliver felt the Beiderman had a particular dislike for him because he used to practice dribbling on the sidewalk in front of the brownstone.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Its findings suggest while widely known for his fame, "dislikes" of Musk have increased in recent years to eclipse his popularity.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
She said there are few foods she dislikes but she is especially fond of steak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Maybe he just really dislikes the entire program and wasn’t targeting Haitians in particular.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
“Because you can’t read its reactions, it’s impossible to sense what kind of shots it dislikes or struggles with, and that makes it even more difficult to play against,” Taira said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
Every day for an hour I sat in Luce’s office and talked about my life, my feelings, my likes and dislikes.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
He reportedly disliked the constant and later referred to it as his "biggest blunder."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
My grandmother and my father, though they disliked each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Both parties found voters on the doorsteps who disliked the government and detested the prime minister.
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
He was 73 and had disliked running young horses in a pressure race such as the Derby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
I disliked them too, but this doll was better than a reading book, and you could own it with self-respect, seeing as it was a boy with guts.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
In 1995, Keith starred in Next Of Kin as Maggie Prentice, a grandmother who made no secret of disliking her orphaned grandchildren when taking them in after the death of her estranged son.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
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
Perhaps the baseball karma gods took a disliking to Kepler’s heads-up play because Seattle reeled off four runs in the top of the ninth inning as the Twins imploded.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
“I’m not trying to mess with you. It’s just that absolutely nothing about liking a person—or even disliking someone—is firmly logical all the way through.”
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
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.
