disagreement
Americannoun
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disagreements
plural
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the act, state, or fact of disagreeing.
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lack of agreement; diversity; unlikeness.
a disagreement of colors.
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difference of opinion; dissent.
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quarrel; dissension; argument.
noun
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refusal or failure to agree
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a failure to correspond
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an argument or dispute
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of disagreement
First recorded in 1485–95; from Anglo-French, Middle French desagrement; equivalent to disagree + -ment
Explanation
A disagreement is a type of conflict, either between people or ideas. No it’s not! Yes it is! It’s an argument. If your opinion contradicts the facts, there's a disagreement. When ideas conflict, there's disagreement. If you want to go to an action movie, but your friend wants to go to a romantic comedy, that's a disagreement. Statements, opinions, and claims can also disagree. If I say my grandmother was a sweet woman, and you say she was a horrible person, that's disagreement. If the IRS finds a disagreement between your taxes and your real income, you could be in trouble.
Vocabulary lists containing disagreement
President Biden's Inaugural Speech (January 2021)
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Part 1 Vocabulary (Unit 1)
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Speaking and Listening - Introductory
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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:
It’s well established that the universe is expanding, but there’s serious disagreement among scientists over how fast it’s happening.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
"I think that's what ended up leading to him leaving -- eventually the disagreement got to be so big that he felt like it was not worth continuing."
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Asked about the disagreement among some counties, she said there tends to be “more of a split in what people think good forest management looks like” when it comes to coastal redwood forests.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
The majority of DoorDash's settlement - $83m - is to resolve a disagreement over how to calculate pay for the time workers spend online between deliveries.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
He forbade anyone to talk back to him and could tolerate no opposition; he viewed the slightest disagreement as a provocation.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
On Monday, there was still uncertainty over whether the fight would happen because of contractual disagreements surrounding the promotion.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
The disagreements are small, roughly one part in 10,000.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
The bill faced several challenges, including disagreements over the language around ethics rules that would prevent government officials from profiting off digital assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
“Democracy is supposed to be about solving our disagreements peacefully,” he said.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Everything was done in the English manner, the idea being that despite our disagreements we were all gendemen.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
