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• dis
  dis

  noun

  lady; woman.
• Dis
  Dis

  noun

  a god of the underworld.
• DIS
  DIS

  abbreviation

  the Disney Channel: a cable television channel.
• dis-
  dis-

  a Latin prefix meaning “apart,” “asunder,” “away,” “utterly,” or having a privative, negative, or reversing force (see de-, un-); used freely, especially with these latter senses, as an English formative.
• dis.
  dis.

  abbreviation

  distance.

dis

¹ American  

[dees] / dis /

noun

Scandinavian Mythology.

disir plural

1. lady; woman.

2. female deity, especially one promoting fertility: often used as a suffix on names.

   Freydis; Hjordis; Thordis.

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dis ² American  

[dis] / dɪs /

verb (used with object)

dissed, dissing

1. to show disrespect for; affront.

2. to disparage; belittle.

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noun

1. insult or disparagement; criticism.

Dis ³ American  

[dis] / dɪs /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a god of the underworld.

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DIS ⁴ American  

abbreviation

Trademark.

1. the Disney Channel: a cable television channel.

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dis- ⁵ American  

1. a Latin prefix meaning “apart,” “asunder,” “away,” “utterly,” or having a privative, negative, or reversing force (see de-, un-); used freely, especially with these latter senses, as an English formative.

   disability; disaffirm; disbar; disbelief; discontent; dishearten; dislike; disown.

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dis- ⁶ American  

1. variant of di- before s: dissyllable.

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dis. ⁷ American  

abbreviation

1. distance.

2. distant.

3. distribute.

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dis- ¹ British  

prefix

1. indicating reversal

   disconnect

   disembark

2. indicating negation, lack, or deprivation

   dissimilar

   distrust

   disgrace

3. indicating removal or release

   disembowel

   disburden

4. expressing intensive force

   dissever

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Dis ² British  

/ dɪs /

noun

1. Also called: Orcus.   Pluto.  the Roman god of the underworld

2. the abode of the dead; underworld

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dis- ³ British  

combining form

1. variant of di- 1

   dissyllable

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dis ⁴ British  

/ dɪs /

verb

1. a variant spelling of diss

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Usage

What does dis mean? Dis means to disrespect, belittle, or disparage something or someone, usually publicly, as in Zuhair dissed Jamal by telling him his hair looked awful. Dissing someone isn’t a nice thing to do. It means you’re showing them disrespect by insulting them. A dis can be something hurtful you say or something hurtful you do, like crossing the street when you bump into a former friend. Example: You’re always dissing that guy, but he isn’t that bad.

Etymology

Origin of dis¹

< Old Norse dīs, plural dīsir; origin uncertain

Origin of dis²

1980–85, from dis- ¹ extracted from such words as disrespect and disparage

Origin of dis-⁵

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

Example Sentences

She speaks with Dahlia Lithwick about America’s problems with dis- and mis-information, and how we can solve them.

From Slate • Mar. 9, 2024

“This can lead to serious consequences with an independent, factual information vacuum that can be filled with deadly propaganda, dis- and misinformation,” it said.

From Washington Times • Oct. 28, 2023

It warned that the information vacuum “can be filled with deadly propaganda, dis- and misinformation.”

From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2023

“State and local governments are well situated to reduce harms from dis- and misinformation by providing timely, accurate and trustworthy information,” said Rachel Goodman, a lawyer at Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan advocacy group.

From New York Times • May 31, 2022

For all the new knowledge, we still have formidable dis- eases, still unsolved, lacking satisfactory explanation, lack- ing satisfactory treatment.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Related Words

• belittle
• decry
• defame
• degrade
• denigrate
• deride
• discredit
• dismiss
• malign
• ridicule
• scorn
• slander
• underrate
• vilify