dis-

1

a Latin prefix meaning “apart,” “asunder,” “away,” “utterly,” or having a privative, negative, or reversing force (see de-, un-2); used freely, especially with these latter senses, as an English formative: disability; disaffirm; disbar; disbelief; discontent; dishearten; dislike; disown.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT
Also di-.

Origin of dis-

1
< Latin (akin to bis, Greek dís twice); before f, dif-; before some consonants, di-; often replacing obsolete des- < Old French

Words nearby dis-

dirty work, dirty-minded, dis, dis aliter visum, dis pater, dis-, dis., disability, disability clause, disability insurance, disability rights commission

Definition for dis- (2 of 2)

dis-2

variant of di-1 before s: dissyllable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for dis- (1 of 2)

dis-1

prefix

indicating reversaldisconnect; disembark
indicating negation, lack, or deprivationdissimilar; distrust; disgrace
indicating removal or releasedisembowel; disburden
expressing intensive forcedissever

Word Origin for dis-

from Latin dis- apart; in some cases, via Old French des-. In compound words of Latin origin, dis- becomes dif- before f and di- before some consonants

British Dictionary definitions for dis- (2 of 2)

dis-2

combining form

variant of di- 1 dissyllable
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for dis-

dis-

pref.

Not:disjugate.
Absence of; opposite of:disorientation.
Undo; do the opposite of:dislocate.
Deprive of; remove:dismember.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.