disallow

American  

[dis-uh-lou] / ˌdɪs əˈlaʊ /

verb (used with object)

• disallows,
  present (3rd person singular)
• disallowed,
  past participle,  past
• disallowing
  present participle

1. to refuse to allow; reject; veto.

   to disallow a claim for compensation.

2. to refuse to admit the truth or validity of.

   to disallow the veracity of a report.

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disallow British  

/ ˌdɪsəˈlaʊ /

verb

1. to reject as untrue or invalid

2. to cancel

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• disallowableness
  noun
• disallowance
  noun
• disallowable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• disallowing
  present
• disallowed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• disallow
  simple
• disallows
  simple
• have disallowed
  perfect
• has disallowed
  perfect
• am disallowing
  progressive
• are disallowing
  progressive
• is disallowing
  progressive
• have been disallowing
  perfect progressive
• has been disallowing
  perfect progressive

Past

• disallowed
  simple
• had disallowed
  perfect
• was disallowing
  progressive
• were disallowing
  progressive
• had been disallowing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will disallow
  simple
• will have disallowed
  perfect
• will be disallowing
  progressive
• will have been disallowing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of disallow

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Old French word desallouer. See dis- ¹, allow

Explanation

When you disallow something, you prohibit it. Teachers usually disallow cell phones in their classrooms. You're most likely to come across the verb disallow in official or formal contexts, like a list of rules in a courtroom or within the wording of a law. Referees often disallow certain actions in sports matches, and prison wardens disallow many kinds of behavior by prisoners. The word comes from allow, with its root allouen, "to praise, approve of, or be pleased with," with the Latin prefix dis in front, here meaning "do the opposite of."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

disallow disallows disallowed disallowing

Some, including Robinhood and SoFi, say they will disallow or limit allocations for people who have participated in IPOs in the past and have “flipped” shares, selling them within 30 days of the offering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

They were only rescued by an agonizing video review that took over 4 minutes to disallow the goal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw, still incensed by Ndala's decision a few moments earlier to disallow a Senegal goal from Ismaila Sarr, ushered his team off the field.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026

The existing players in cybersecurity provide businesses with complex firewalls: software that identifies customers’ internal users of data, and tools that allow or disallow access to information for parties external to the customer.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026

The auctioneer gave her a sour look but did not disallow the bid.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

But his claim was rejected by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals under a 1994 precedent that disallows using such lawsuits to collaterally attack criminal convictions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025

It is not uncommon for inductees to be added to the hall of fame posthumously, but the association’s rule specifically disallows artists to be elected in the year of their death.

From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2024

He noted the "collateral estoppel" doctrine in the case that disallows Trump and Habba from attempting to "relitigate the first trial."

From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2024

Jin, who turned 30 in December, had faced an impending conscription because the law disallows most South Korean men from further delaying their services after they turn 30.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 18, 2023

The Crown disallows the Act on the 1st of April.

From England's Case Against Home Rule by Albert Venn Dicey

Four years ago in Qatar, only one goal was disallowed after 70 minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

"We got lucky," he said after a quarter-final that saw Norway take the lead, miss a great chance to make it 2-0, have a goal disallowed and also hit the bar.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

In an incident-packed game, Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir produced a magnificent save to keep out Messi's penalty before the Pharaohs thought they had scored another only for it to be disallowed.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

In the second half, Mostafa Zico made it 2-0 to Egypt, moments after the Pharaohs had a goal disallowed by instant replay for a foul that occurred at the other end of the pitch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

However, any mathematician of the day would have scoffed at this line of reasoning; Archimedes used the tools of the infinite, which were so expressly disallowed by his mathematical colleagues.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Haaland’s push on England’s Elliott Anderson led to video replay disallowing a go-ahead strike, which briefly appeared to have given Norway a second-half lead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

I don't bother cheering goals any more as the officials are far more interested in finding ways of disallowing goals than the entertainment of the match-going fan.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026

Instead of disallowing conversations about “imminent real-world harm” and self-harm, it placed them in a category in which the model was instructed to simply “take extra care” with users.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

What reason did the Court give for disallowing race to be among many explicit factors considered?

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2023

Another February 8 motion was aimed at disallowing the prosecution from using anything in the trial that Reggie had said to Rindlisbacher at the scene of the accident, and en route to the hospital.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

• forbid
• rebuff